


Show me your secrets and I'll show you madness

by Nera_Solani



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bisexual Dean Winchester, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Grace Sex, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, I am evil, Idiots in Love, Illusions, Injury, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Nearly Human Castiel, Post-Season/Series 13, Sam Winchester Knows, Temporary Character Death, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 09:02:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16343861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nera_Solani/pseuds/Nera_Solani
Summary: Are you afraid of the dark? No?If you ever find a door that leads nowhere, don't go in.Four teenagers make the mistake of doing so anyway and don’t come back out. Which is how Dean, Sam and Castiel find themselves investigating a case that leads them right into an ancient Greek myth about a labyrinth housing a monster. But the monster isn't the only thing lurking in this dark place; the walls are breathing, watching, waiting… Being separated in a giant maze that isn’t attached to our reality isn’t how any of them had envisioned this case would go.What is real? What is an illusion? Is that blood? What was that shadow?In every corner awaits a new nightmare, each one worse than the other. The three men need to save the missing teenagers and find a way out — if they can find each other, and live through the terrors the maze shows them. But none of that is easy when you’re being confronted with your worst memories and fears. Especially when you have to lose the love of your life over and over again…Well? Are you afraid of the dark? Maybe you should be.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time taking part in the DCBB and I'd like to thank the mods for hosting such an amazing challenge! Of course I'd also like to thank my artist [Correlia](http://correlia-be.tumblr.com) for the awesome job she did! You can find a link to her amazing art [here](http://correlia-be.tumblr.com/post/179212037804/show-me-your-secrets-and-ill-show-you-madness). Please take the time to click that link and give her some love!
> 
> I do not own any characters etc, please be aware that some of the themes in this story are slightly disturbing so make sure to read the tags.  
> That being said, enjoy!

__

_Show me your secrets and I’ll show you madness,_

_Show me your light and I’ll bring you darkness,_

_Show me your dreams and I’ll give you nightmares,_

_Tell me a lie and I’ll burn out your heart_

 

“Tell me again, why exactly are we in the woods?” Sue asked irritatedly as she followed her friends through the close standing trees.

“Come on, Sue, don't be a party pooper,” Ian replied.

“Yeah,” Jenny agreed, leaning into his side, “We’re here to have fun, so loosen up a little!”

“You’ve been so stressed in the last weeks, you should just relax,” Andrew offered.

“But it’s cold here… and it’s getting dark soon,” Sue said, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Stop complaining, we’re almost there. You’ll like it, I’m sure,” Lucas told her with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s really romantic,” Andrew agreed, leaning closer to her, but she just took a step away.

“Ugh, fine. But then we’re gonna go somewhere warm to celebrate, okay?”

“Promise,” Ian told Sue, wrapping his arm around Jenny.

“This clearing better be worth it,” Sue mumbled under her breath as they kept walking.

Just like Lucas had said, they were soon there and Sue had to admit, the clearing really was beautiful. Still, she’d rather be celebrating her passed exam in the warm comfort of her home. But her friends were as they were and they had always been persistent. Somehow she always ended up tagging along. She liked them for how they were, even though she knew someday they’d get into trouble.

Sue was ripped out of her train of thought while she was staring up at the sky, when Ian called out, “Hey! Check this out!”

Everyone turned to where Ian’s voice came from and they saw him standing at the center of the large clearing, next to a door. A completely free standing door, attached to nothing but the ground. Strange.

“What the hell?!” Andrew exclaimed in confusion, “That wasn’t there two weeks ago!”

“It’s creeping me out,” Jenny said, pressing closer to her boyfriend and Ian promptly wrapped his arms protectively around her.

“Maybe someone set it up. To scare off people or something,” Lucas offered, examining the door.

“Or maybe it’s a hidden camera thing,” Andrew said, pushing up his glasses.

“In the middle of nowhere?” Lucas countered with an arched eyebrow.

Andrew just shrugged, stepped closer to the door and knocked.

“What are you doing?” Jenny asked, sounding a little frightened.

“What?” he asked a little mockingly, “You think a ghost might answer? I thought you weren’t superstitious, Jen…”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m not.”

“Then why don't you come over here and open the door?” Andrew joked.

Jenny’s expression turned more frightened by the second and Sue also had a bad feeling about this. “Guys, maybe we should just leave.”

“Come on guys, don't be chicken, it’s just a door.” Andrew rolled his eyes.

Lucas walked around the wooden door, inspecting it from all angles and directions and then agreed, “Like he said, just a door.”

“Now, come on. Open it.” Alex waved at Lucas challengingly.

“What? Why me? Why don’t you open it?” he threw back at Alex.

They kept staring at each other for a moment, until Ian sighed somewhat defeatedly and stepped forward to open the door himself. What happened then, not one of them had seen coming…


	2. Team Free Will 2.0

Mick was sitting quietly in his makeshift office, sipping a cup of tea. It has been a rather lazy day in the bunker so far. The supernatural world had gotten quiet since they’d dealt with the whole “alternate universe Michael” mess and there were mostly just normal hunts to take care of. He thought about the past year and how all of this could’ve turned out so very differently.

It had been a smart move to not return to the British Men of Letters Headquarters that evening and instead come to the bunker with the Winchester brothers. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t be alive now. He’d helped them save Eileen’s life, because he’d known she would’ve been next, he’d stood by their sides fighting off the British invasion in an inelegant but effective way and he called himself lucky that they took him in as a British refugee and ultimately let him stay.

When Mick had left the British Men of Letters for good, he’d packed as many things as he’d been able to carry and later, after the invaders had been dealt with, he’d moved as much equipment to the bunker as possible. The brothers had cleaned out an extra room for him, right next to his bedroom, where they’d set it all up. That was his “office” now. Almost all the technical intelligence of the BMoL packed into a small room of his own, where he would look for cases, communicate with other hunters through their steadily growing network and do some research for anyone who needed it. He was good at that. Field work wasn’t really his cup of tea, but this… this he could do. And he did it well.

Mick had also been with them when Jack had been born and later when they’d saved him and Mary and all the others from the alternate universe. He’d been with them when Dean had said yes to Michael and he’d been standing by them throughout the aftermath, facing the consequences together. Sam, Jack, Mary and him had been the only ones around to keep Castiel from falling apart, but in the end they hadn’t been enough. Saying the angel had been distraught would be the understatement of the goddamn century. He’d been _broken_ , for the lack of a better word. Heartbroken. It had been the first time that any of them had seen an angel cry. “Don't worry, Cas. We will get Dean back,” Sam had told him, a gentle hand on his shoulder, but it had done nothing to keep the tears at bay. Castiel had been a mess and nothing could’ve made it better. Only Dean could. Mick had never buried himself in his research so deeply before, he hadn’t slept for days and barely eaten at all. They all had done what they could to get Dean back and to fix Cas.

One night, in his pain, grief and anger, Castiel had left the bunker to go after Michael on his own, consequences be damned. If he was honest, Mick had expected him to do something like that sooner or later. As soon as they’d found him to be missing, Mick had doubled his efforts to find out how to get rid of Michael, but now he hadn’t looked for a way to kill the archangel, but to expel him, to deal with him later. Turned out that was a lot easier and by the time Sam and Jack had found Castiel, Mick had known the ritual and promptly raced over to them with all the ingredients. Meanwhile, Michael had taken it upon himself to beat up Castiel, Sam and Jack. When Mick had arrived, the archangel had been about to deliver the final blow on Cas, who only managed to croak out a pleading “Dean…”

And somehow… somehow that had done the trick. Michael had started to shake violently as Dean had fought him and with Sam, Cas and Jack all telling him how much he meant to them, he’d managed to take control. Mick had immediately rushed in to perform the expelling ritual and it had actually worked. Dean had been free again.

A few days of recovery later, they’d found an unexpected visitor in front of their door. Gabriel, who apparently had managed to trick both of his brothers once again and was now back in their universe with an entire army of angels who had apparently all been sick of Michael’s destructive attitude. Together they’d faced down Michael, who had been considerably weakened by the spell and by losing his true vessel. The battle had been over sooner than any of them had expected, with Gabriel plunging the archangel blade into Michael’s provisional vessel. It was over.

The new angels followed Gabriel into this universe’s Heaven to get it running smoothly again. The humans from the alternate universe went back to start rebuilding their homes. Mary and Ketch had gone with them for now, though there was a promise of reunion from Mary.

Jack was still low on grace, but slowly recovering. It seemed like his weakened state was actually helping him learn to control his powers.

As for Castiel, he was himself again from the moment Michael had left Dean’s body. From the moment, green eyes had focused on him with worry and strong arms had finally wrapped around him.

Mick was part of the team now, as much as Mary, Jack and of course Castiel who had finally decided to stay away from Heaven where he hadn't felt at home for years, and instead moved into the bunker for good. Even Gabriel was now kind of a part of this messed up little group, even if his visits were rather sparse.

“Team Free Will 2.0” Dean had called them, and oh how it fit. Mick hadn’t known true free will since he went into training at the BMoL as a child and now he was free. Just like Castiel had freed himself from his Heavenly leash. They had their differences and disputes, but they also were united in their beliefs in a way Mick had never known. They were pretty messed up by the things they’d seen, things they’d done and they’d never forget any of it, but they were together, fighting the fight side by side and in all honesty, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The world wasn’t ending, their patchwork family was bigger than ever, Dean was back, Jack was slowly recovering and Sam and Eileen seemed to be slowly getting closer. All was good.

 

At the moment, Mick was looking through some news reports on his computer and also checking for supernatural activity on the magic-radar, as Dean liked to call it. He noticed a strange energy signature that didn’t belong to anything he’d ever seen in his years at the BMoL, so he scoured for news reports that might belong to whatever was going on there, and _bingo_. Four missing teenagers in a town near the signature. Could be a case.

Suddenly he heard a noise that he’d learned to recognize by now — the bunker’s front door. He mentally catalogued who might’ve just arrived, because no one had planned on leaving as far as he knew. Jack was probably in his room and if Sam wasn’t tending to him, he was probably in the library, and he hadn’t seen Eileen the entire day. Which meant that it could only be Dean and Castiel, who’d been out to get dinner. Had it already gotten so late? Mick tended to lose track of time when he was immersed in his work, so it was quite possible. He switched on the screensaver on the computer and made his way to the war room, greeting Sam as he passed by him in the library and then saw Dean and Castiel walking in with the food, apparently in the middle of an argument.

“That’s not what I’m saying, Cas, and you know it,” Dean argued, “I’m hella glad that you stopped working with those winged dicks of a family who only ever stabbed you in the back. And you’re an awesome hunter, you really are and nobody is happier that you decided to stay with us than me. All I’m saying is, you gotta stop throwing yourself unnecessarily into danger. Your powers aren’t what they used to be ten years ago, y’know? You still kick ass, but you gotta be more careful, man.”

“Dean, I was only trying to protect you,” Castiel retorted.

“I didn’t need your protection. I would’ve been just fine without you throwing yourself into harm’s way. Sam and I did a ton of hunts without you and we always got out okay. Maybe with a gash or two, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. And now we have you, you can always heal me if I get injured, you know that.”

“Yes, I know, but I don’t understand why it bothers you so much.”

“Cas, it bothers me because you already died on me one too many times and I really don’t wanna witness that again. So can you just be more careful from now on?”

Castiel’s face had gone softer hearing Dean’s words and he nodded slightly. “Fine. I will try.”

“Hey Mick, where’s Sam? We brought the food,” Dean asked, walking towards him.

“He’s in the library. Where’s Eileen?”

“She went along with Jody and the girls on a rugaru hunt.”

“It seems that she wants to get to know more female hunters,” Castiel added.

Mick gave an acknowledging nod and followed them into the library. When they were sitting and eating, Dean asked after a sip of beer, “So, Mick, what’ve you been up to? You were holed up in your office for almost the whole day. Find anything?”

“Actually, yes. There was a peak of supernatural energy in a forest near Missoula, Montana a couple days ago. I also found a report of four teenagers who went missing in that town just two days ago. The energy signature is something I’ve never seen before, but I’ll see what I can find in the database.”

“Think we should check it out?” Dean asked Sam through a mouthful of food.

Sam shrugged. “If Mick says it could be a case, we probably should.”

“I agree,” Castiel said. “He has an impressively low error rate.”

“Alright, that’s a 17 hour drive, but I can make it in about 15, so if we head out in thirty minutes and drive all night, we should be there by morning.”

“Sounds good,” Sam agreed.

Now Jack walked into the room. “Oh good, dinner.” He grabbed some of the food and sat down in the seat next to Sam. “Is there anything new?”

“Yeah, we’ll head out for a hunt today. Missing teenagers in Montana. Mick said it’s something for us,” Sam told him.

“Okay, I guess I’ll stay here then. You’ll call, right?”

“I was going to tell you to keep me updated as well, actually,” Mick added.

“Of course,” Cas said.

“So… anything else? Everyone alright?” Mick asked the boys.

Castiel and Dean shared a look that was probably connected to their earlier argument, but then nodded.

“We’re good,” Dean answered.

“Cas? How are you? I know a bit about angels, but is being away from heaven affecting you in any way?” he asked further, a little concerned about how the angel was coping with the new situation.

“I am fine. I don’t need contact with heaven to maintain my powers.” He hesitated for a moment, before adding more quietly, “Actually, I feel quite freed, like a burden is finally lifted off my shoulders…”

Mick gave a small smile, “That’s great to hear. I’m glad you feel good staying here with us.”

“I do. Very much so.”

No one at the table pointed out the lovestruck expression on Dean’s face at hearing Cas say that he was happy to be with them. Mick wasn’t oblivious to what was going on between the two, but he was content observing from the sidelines. Of course, Sam and Eileen knew too and they’d even talked about it sometimes, but Mick tried to keep out of that mostly. He simply didn’t see a need to get involved.

After a moment of silence, Dean cleared his throat, “Yeah, happy to have ya here, man.” He patted Castiel on the shoulder and returned his attention to his food.

Another few seconds passed before Sam broke the silence again. “Well, I’ve been cataloguing magical artifacts that we found here in the bunker and ones we accumulated over the years, so I’ve been pretty busy today.”

Now Mick perked up. “Oh, that’s nice to hear. Could you send that list to me? I might pick up where you left off if I run out of research to do while you’re gone.” He turned to Jack. “Also, I might be able to help you with your grace, I looked into what the Men of Letters know about angels and found quite a bit about nephilim that might help you to recover your powers completely.”

“That sounds good. Thank you, Mick,” Jack replied with a thankful smile.

Time went by quickly and soon the three men were heading out for the long drive to Montana.


	3. Knock, knock

“A double and a single room, please,” Dean told the clerk at the motel reception.

The thin guy eyed the three of them curiously, probably wondering who of them was going to sleep alone, then asked, “Double or two king-size beds? For the double room.”

Dean didn’t flinch at the question anymore, he’d heard it so often over the years. “Two king-size.”

“Alright.” The guy handed Dean their keys and the group went to find their rooms.

“Dean, that wouldn’t have been necessary. I don’t need sleep,” Cas protested.

“Bullshit, you know what happened last time you insisted that you don’t sleep. Ever since last time you came back from the dead, you get tired and hungry. And I haven’t heard you complain about anything tasting like molecules _once_ since you moved into the bunker for good.” Cas frowned, but Dean went on, “Y’know, I think you’ve become a lot more human than you want to admit.”

Cas’ eyes were cast downwards, almost in shame, but then Dean laid a hand onto his shoulder and said, “But that’s a good thing, don’t you think?” Grinning he added, “Means you can appreciate my burgers now.”

And Cas couldn’t hold back the tiny smile that slipped onto his face. Dean was right — since he’d come back from the Empty, he was more human than any other angel. He still had most of his powers, though they weren’t what they used to be. He could heal, which was most important to him, but smiting had gotten more difficult. He didn’t mind though, he was happy as long as he could heal Dean and Sam, and properly tasting food again was a very nice bonus. It was almost like he’d fallen again, just not completely. And now that Dean had told him it was a good thing, he was perfectly able to admit to himself that he liked it. A lot. He’d never felt better.

“Dibs on the single!” Sam exclaimed when they reached their rooms.

“Fine, here.” Dean handed him the key without complaint. He hadn’t really expected anything different and sharing with Cas was far from bad. In fact, the thought of Cas sharing a room with somebody else made him a lot more uncomfortable, even though it was just Sam. Still, Dean was always happy to share a room with Cas, it was almost some kind of unspoken agreement by now. At least the angel didn’t snore.

They took a few hours to get some rest after the long drive and then Sam picked up lunch for the three of them.

“Alright, so what do we know?” Dean asked, picking up a slice of pizza.

“Mick sent me what he got so far,” Sam said from behind his laptop. “Four teenagers, all around 18 and 19 years old and going to the local college, disappeared this Wednesday completely out of the blue. According to parents and professors, they were close friends and none of them had any problems in college or at home, so it’s unlikely that they just ran away. There’s no sign of them so far. The police seem to be pretty clueless.”

“Makes it easier to get them to help us… though I don't think they’d be of much use anyway,” Dean mumbled, taking another bite.

“That’s pretty much it. Mick also sent me the contact information and the addresses of the parents.”

“Cool, let’s get started then. Maybe we should split up. You go pay the parents of two kids a visit, Cas and I take the other two families.” Dean finished his slice of pizza and wiped his hands before getting up.

Sam packed up his laptop and left the room to get changed while Dean already shrugged out of his clothes to get into his FBI suit. Dean noticed Cas watching him for a moment, before the angel averted his eyes. Dean didn’t say anything about it.

 

Walking up to the front porch of family Johnson’s house, Dean took a moment to adjust Cas’ tie and coat and then he turned to knock on the door.

A woman with tired eyes opened the door, looking them up and down without saying so much as a word and Dean took that as his cue to pull out his badge and show it to her. “Mrs Johnson? I’m Agent Wilson, this is Agent Parker.” He gestured at Cas who was holding his badge out towards her as well.

Now the woman straightened up the tiniest bit. “What can I do for you, agents?”

“We’re here because of your son, Ian,” Cas told her softly.

Dean couldn’t help being proud of him. Thinking back to the first time they’d worked a case together, it was obvious how far Cas had come since then. He was a real hunter now. Still, the time Cas had held his FBI badge upside-down would forever have a special place in Dean’s heart.

The woman looked at them for another moment, eyes sweeping over their badges, then she said with a quiet voice, “Of course, come in.”

She led them into the living room of the house and offered them each a seat.

“My husband will be home in a minute. He went out to ask if the police have any new leads,” she said as she sat down opposite them.

Dean and Cas nodded their understanding and Dean started to speak. “Can you tell us anything about your son that might help us find him and the others? Did you notice anything weird before he disappeared?”

“What? No… nothing weird.”

“Ma’am, please think about it for a moment — was there anything out of the ordinary? Every little detail could be important,” Cas said.

The woman thought for a moment, then shook her head, “No, I… They just wanted to celebrate…”

Dean perked up, “Celebrate what?”

She swallowed and explained, “They had a hard week, an important exam coming up and they wanted to celebrate that it was over and they all passed. Sue had been very stressed over it and they wanted to help her relax…”

Cas and Dean exchanged a look.

“Sue? She wasn’t reported as missing,” Cas pointed out.

The woman sniffed and shook her head, “No, she isn’t. She says she doesn’t know what happened but she seems scared… They were always this small clique. Ian, his girlfriend Jenny, Lucas, Andrew and Sue. I have no idea why Sue wasn’t with them that evening.”

“Hey…” Dean carefully reached out to calm her, “It’s okay. We’ll find your son. Okay?”

She sniffed again and nodded slightly.

“We may need to talk to Sue about her friends. Do you have her contact information?” Cas asked her.

She gave another nod and grabbed a small piece of paper and a pen from the table and scribbled down an address, then handed it to them. “Sue Morrison. This is where her family lives, but if you want to talk to her, your best bet is the college.”

Cas took the note from her with a grateful smile, “Thank you.”

At that moment, Mr Johnson came home and looked confused when he spotted Dean and Cas sitting in the living room.

“They’re FBI agents who are investigating our son’s and his friends’ case,” Mrs Johnson told her husband.

He nodded at them, “Agents.”

Dean and Cas exchanged a look and simultaneously stood up.

“We were just about to leave,” Dean said and held out his card for the woman to take, “If you remember anything else, don't hesitate to call us.”

She nodded and took the card carefully, then turned to ask her husband, “Anything?”

He looked down at the ground, “No. Nothing.”

Then he stepped forward and took his wife into his arms to comfort her.

“We should go,” Dean said quietly and Cas nodded in agreement.

They quietly made their way out of the house and on to the next family.

 

They stood in front of the last house on Mick’s list, leaning against the Impala as they waited for Sam to come out. When the door opened and he walked outside to join them, Dean straightened up and asked, “And? Got anything?”

“Well, both families told me essentially the same. The teens were an inseparable group and wanted to celebrate a passed exam when they disappeared, however one of the friends, a… Sue Morrison, isn’t missing.”

“Yeah,” Dean told him, “That’s exactly what we got, too.”

“We should talk to this Sue,” Cas said.

“Yeah, we definitely should,” Sam agreed and they all got into the car.

It didn’t take long until they arrived at the local college and they made their way inside in quick strides.

“Excuse me, Sir,” Dean stopped a man who was probably a professor in the hall and flashed his badge. “FBI. We’re looking for Sue Morrison.”

The man looked confused for a moment, but then he caught on. “Oh, uh, she just had a class, but that should be over now, maybe you can catch her leaving. The room’s down the corridor on the right.” He pointed them into the direction and they started walking.

They just arrived at the door when it swung open and students flocked out, most of them only sparing the men in suits a short glance, but a blonde girl slowed her pace when she noticed them.

“Sue Morrison?” Sam asked. “FBI. We need to talk to you about your friends.”

She swallowed visibly, eyes flicking around the room before she nodded, “Sure.”

They all stepped aside into a quieter corridor as to not stand in the way and then she said, “I already told the police, I don't know what happened.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, we’re not the police and I think you know something,” Dean told her sternly.

She looked down at her hands in shame. “I really don't know where they are… I just… You wouldn’t believe me. No one would…”

“Try us,” Dean said.

She pressed her eyes closed and exhaled, shaking her head the tiniest bit.

“Sue, we have more experience with strange occurrences than you might think,” Cas started, “Do you know The X-Files?”

Now she looked up at him. “Are you telling me you’re looking for aliens?”

“No. But we belong to a… special unit that investigates strange cases. So, whatever you saw, we will believe you.”

She looked caught by surprise, just stared at Cas for a moment in shock, but Dean was almost doing the same. Had Cas really just made a pop culture reference? Suddenly Sam elbowed him in the ribs, with the whispered comment, “You’re drooling…”

Dean’s mouth snapped shut and he felt his ears heat up at being called out like that. But what was he supposed to do? Cas had just made a _pop culture reference_. Totally casual. And to the X-Files of all possible shows. He just couldn't help finding that hot.

Sue looked around at the other students who passed by and sighed, “Fine, I’ll tell you, but not here.”

“Alright,” Sam said. “Lead the way.”

She led them to a small, unoccupied inner courtyard. Finally satisfied that they were alone, she let out another sigh and started to tell them what had happened. “We’ve had an exam recently and it’s been a couple stressful weeks for us, especially for me, so they all insisted on showing me a clearing in the forest that Lucas and Andrew had found last month or so. I wasn’t particularly fond of being in the woods at night, but I let myself be persuaded… Anyway, when we reached the clearing, there was… there was a door.”

“A door?” Sam repeated questioningly.

“Yeah, it was weird. Just a door, no building, nothing attached to it. Something about it freaked me out, but Andrew insisted it was just a normal door, nothing to be afraid of. He even knocked and nothing happened, but…” she trailed off, eyes cast downwards.

“Sue, what happened?” Sam coaxed gently.

She sighed again, “When Ian opened it to prove it was harmless… it wasn’t a normal door. When he opened it, it led into a dark room. But that isn’t possible, because it was a _free standing door_ in the middle of nowhere…”

“What happened then?” Dean asked.

She ran a hand through her long hair. “Everybody was shocked for a moment. Then… Andrew suggested we should check it out. Ian was immediately on board, ever adventurous, and wherever he goes Jenny tags along. Lucas was skeptical at first, but when Andrew told him to man up, he went along too. They always try to one-up each other, probably to impress me…”

“Lemme guess, you’re not interested?” Dean asked to lighten her mood a little.

“No, I’m not really into guys.”

“Oh, so you’re into girls then? That’s totally cool.”

“No, actually I’m not really into anyone,” she explained.

Dean nodded, “Ah. I see.”

Sam eyed him from the side for a moment, before steering the conversation back on track. “So, they went all through the door. What happened next?”

“I refused to go with them. That place this door leads to? It gave me the heebie-jeebies. They thought it was cool and went in anyway while I stayed behind… but they never came back out. I drove back home like everything was fine. I thought about telling the police what happened, but they’d just think I’m crazy…” Her bottom lip wobbled slightly as she was trying not to cry. “I shouldn’t have let them go in… I shouldn’t have stayed behind…”

“Hey,” Dean reached out to her with a gentle hand, voice soothing. “It’s okay. ’S not your fault.”

“We will find your friends,” Cas said with a sincere tone.

Sue made a small sniff and nodded, “Thank you.”

Now Sam spoke up again, “Sue, can you show us where that door is?”

She grimaced slightly, but nodded anyway.

 

They followed Sue’s car in the Impala into the forest, Dean cursing about his Baby possibly getting scratches. When the road ended, Sue stopped her car and Dean parked on the side. More or less wordlessly, she led them through the woods, occasionally looking around to check for landmarks. Since they didn’t know what they were dealing with, they brought their standard weapons. Cas’ angel blade, Ruby’s knife, each their own guns with silver bullets, some salt, a few fancy Men of Letters gadgets and the Colt, just to be safe.

When they finally stepped into the clearing, Dean immediately noticed the freestanding door that looked completely out of place. _That_ was something they’d never seen before and when they could say that for sure, it meant something.

Sam walked around the door, examining it closely and said, not exactly absentmindedly, “Thanks Sue, you can go home now.”

“You’re going to go in there, aren’t you?” she asked with concern.

Dean nodded. “We’ll find your friends.” The “hopefully alive” remained unsaid.

“I’m coming with you,” Sue declared all of a sudden.

“No, you’re not. We’ll take care of this, you should go home,” Dean insisted.

“But I shouldn’t’ve let them go in there in the first place! I’ll come with you, I can help!”

“Sue, it isn’t your fault,” Cas told her calmly. “We’re going to find them, but we need to know that you’re safe. Go home. Or back to college.”

“Make sure no one finds that door until we’re done here,” Dean added.

She looked at them for a moment with big eyes, but the fight had already drained from her and she nodded weakly. “Okay…”

They waited for her to leave, just in case something jumped out of that door when they opened it. Dean and Cas pulled their respective weapons while Sam stepped closer to the door and reached for the knob. He silently counted from three to one and pulled the door open as fast as possible. Nothing jumped out at them. Dean counted that as a small win. There was obviously nothing attached to the door, seeing as one could walk completely around it, but it still led into a dark room with blank, cold looking stone walls. The smooth stone floor was covered in dust, but there were footprints visible in the light that came through the door. But not only did the light shine inside, it also seemed like the darkness of the corridor was seeping out, which was something that it _definitely_ wasn’t supposed to do under any circumstances.

“Alright, now I see why this place creeped her out,” Dean muttered under his breath.

As the dark corridor remained quiet and empty, they tucked their weapons away again. Sam noticed an inscription that was carved into the inner side of the door where the wood almost looked grey.

“Guys,” he caught Dean’s and Cas’ attention, looking pointedly at the words that were written there, obviously in Ancient Greek. “I think it’s time to call Mick.”

 

“A freestanding door that leads to a dark corridor with walls of stone and an Ancient Greek inscription is oddly specific,” Mick said over the phone. “I’m scouring the database.”

“Okay, good,” Sam replied. “I sent you a picture of the inscription. Could you maybe translate it for us?”

“Of course, Ancient Greek was one of the first language classes at the academy, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he pulled up the picture on one of his computer screens while the search through Greek myths was still running on another.

“Alright Mick, you’re on speaker.”

He quickly read over the words and then said into his headset, “It seems to be a poem, though not one that I am familiar with. It says:

_Show me your secrets and I’ll show you madness,_

_Show me your light and I’ll bring you darkness,_

_Show me your dreams and I’ll give you nightmares,_

_Tell me a lie and I’ll burn out your heart_

That’s it. There’s no information as to what it might be referring to or who the author was.”

“Okay,” Sam told him after he’d typed the poem into his phone as a note. “Whatever it means, it has to mean _something_ , otherwise it wouldn’t be there.”

“Yes, I wish I could tell you more,” Mick said. “Ah, the search is finished.”

“What’d you find?” Dean asked.

“Okay, there are a couple myths that fit your description, more or less. A door to the underworld, for example, but I found some other information that narrows it down to pretty much one thing.”

“What kind of information?” Cas inquired.

“There have been similar disappearances in the past, always in the same forest and there’s a pattern. Every seventh year people go missing in that forest, always during the same seven days. That pattern only fits one possible place this door could lead to…”

“And that would be?” Dean was getting a little impatient.

“The Labyrinth of the Minotaur.”

“Yeah, of course, every seventh year Athen would have to bring tributes to the Minotaur in the form of people to feed him,” Sam put together.

“Okay, but what is that doing here? This is obviously not Greece,” Dean pointed out.

“It seems to be a small pocket universe that is attached to our universe through this door. Think of our universe as a soap bubble with another tiny bubble attached to it. That smaller bubble is this pocket dimension. I believe it must’ve been created specifically for the purpose of holding the Minotaur inside, but an inter-dimensional door like this can be moved in space. I assume if the entity trapped inside was powerful enough, it could change the location where the entrance appears every seventh year. It is also a possibility that someone else used some kind of magic to move it,” Cas explained carefully to which Dean nodded along, all of his attention focused on Cas.

“Okay, this explains what it is and what it’s doing here, but what do we do now?” Sam asked, already dreading the answer he was obviously going to get.

“It’s a maze, so those kids could be still alive. We gotta find ‘em and I think it’s pretty obvious what we need to do for that…” Dean answered, not liking his own words one bit.

“I have to agree,” Cas added, “Our only chance to find these teenagers alive is going inside as well. Though we should be careful, I can feel the power radiating from that place…”

“Great.” Dean cursed under his breath. “Because there’s just no way that can go wrong…”

“Watch out over there,” Mick said over the phone, “And call me if you need anything. Also, please call as soon as you wrapped this up so we know you’re okay.”

“Alright Mick, will do. Bye,” Sam replied before he hung up.

He slipped the phone into his pocket and turned his head towards the door again. There was a moment of silence where they all just looked at the place they’d have to go now. Then they fumbled for their flashlights and walked inside.


	4. Welcome to the dark

The first corridor seemed almost endless. They walked straight ahead, their flashlights lighting the way. The stone of the floor and walls was cold, smooth and seemingly made from one single piece. Dean almost thought this damn corridor might just go on and on forever, but then it led them into a bigger room. As they stepped out of the narrow passage, they found themselves in a giant dome made of the same stone. Right in front of them was the labyrinth with mile-high walls of solid stone, towering above them like buildings. For some reason it wasn’t dark anymore. The dim light didn’t seem to have a source, but it was enough to light the way sufficiently, so they switched off their flashlights and packed them away. The entrance to the huge maze was impossible to overlook: a wide gap between the high walls. As they stepped closer, Sam noticed the same poem that was carved into the door, written in the stone. Like a warning. A dark promise. It made his skin crawl.

They followed the faint footprints in the low light, each of them constantly on edge. All of a sudden, Dean noticed something on the walls. Scratches, some of them filled with a dark, thick liquid that gave off a rotten smell. When he wrinkled his nose, Cas answered the unspoken question, “It’s rotten blood. Probably from a previous victim considering how old it is.”

Walking slower now, they kept looking at the walls, increasingly disturbed by what they saw. The massive stone walls were covered in increasingly deep scratches accompanied by more and more blood. At some point, the scratches started to form words in capital letters.

NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS

FLEE

GO AWAY

HELP

LEAVE ME ALONE

KILL ME

They looked on in horror as they saw scratches that marked days someone had been trapped there, and that horror morphed into dread when they came across a spot that looked like someone had tried to scratch a hole through the wall. Of course the person hadn’t gotten far, but the shallow notch was drenched in rotten blood. Right below, on the floor, lay a fingernail, coated in dark red.

“Looks like someone tried to dig their way out with their bare hands,” Sam noted.

Dean looked at the messages on the walls, which were even more concerning to him, “Yeah… looks promising…”

They didn’t stay to examine the scene any closer, but as they continued to follow the teenagers’ footprints, they didn’t get very far. The trail ended in a wall. Literally. The trail of footprints led _into_ a wall.

“The hell…?” Dean mumbled.

Castiel looked around nervously. He had a bad feeling about this place. A _really_ bad feeling.

He wished he still had his wings, it would make things so much easier, within a second he’d be standing on the high wall, or in the center of the maze. But he didn’t have his wings, so he was stuck here as much as the brothers. Finding those missing teenagers seemed like an almost impossible feat, they could be anywhere and this maze was huge, but going separate ways wasn’t an option, it would be suicide.

Suddenly Sam heard something behind them. It was a faint laugh, the sound of it eerily familiar. His head whipped around so fast, it should’ve hurt. There it was again, that laugh. He knew that voice. A flash of blonde hair and she called his name.

“…Jess?” It couldn’t be. It just wasn’t possible.

“Something here is very wrong,” Cas mumbled to himself, studying the wall where the footprints ended.

Before he knew it, Sam’s feet were carrying him away from his brother and friend, towards the origin of the voice that was calling for him.

When Dean noticed his little brother walking away, he instantly turned around to see what was going on.

“Sam, wait!” Dean called out and proceeded to run after his brother, but just as Sam turned around, a wall moved into the way, closing off the corridor and separating Sam from Dean and Cas.

Dean reached the wall just a moment too late and slammed his fist against it, “Fuck! Sam? Sammy?!”

“Dean?! Dean!” Sam hammered against the cold stone wall. He looked for a way to move the wall back to where it had come from, but there was no use.

“Sam, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” came the muffled reply from the other side.

“Dammit, Cas, what’s going on here?”

Cas walked up close to Dean, frowning at the new wall. “I don’t know, but this explains why the trail of footprints leads nowhere… This is not a normal maze, Dean. It’s enchanted and this spell is very powerful. I can feel it in the walls, even in the air. We should be careful.”

Dean clenched his jaw, looking at the wall that separated him from his brother, “Yeah… Listen Sam, we’re gonna find you, okay? Just… shit. Just stay where you are, we’re comin’ for you.”

“Okay. You should stay together or you might get separated as well!”

“Of course, Sam,” Cas agreed.

“Alright.” Dean ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. “Let’s go find a way around this wall.”

Cas put a hand on Dean’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, then they went into the free corridor to their left.

They were walking so close that no wall would fit between them. Just as a safety measure of course.

Dean noticed how tense Cas was, his eyes darting around constantly, looking almost anxious.

“Cas, you okay?” he asked the angel tentatively.

“Yes, I… This place, it’s… really old. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s so much power vibrating through the walls and filling the air… but it also kind of feels like… like it’s breathing.” He paused, eyes flicking down, jaw muscles twitching, “It’s quite unsettling.”

Dean watched his friend carefully, eyes widened just a fraction by that explanation. “I can imagine…”

The corner of Cas’ mouth ticked upwards. “No, you can’t. Not really.”

“Yeah, maybe… But I’m pretty sure this place can't get any creepier.”

All of a sudden, Dean heard a scream. “Dean! Help!”

“Sammy!?” In a heartbeat he sprinted off towards the voice of his brother. He’d told him to stay where he was, dammit!

Cas grabbed for Dean’s arm to stop him, but he was just a millisecond too slow and then the man was out of his reach. He ran after him as fast as he could, shouting, “Dean, there’s no one there! It’s not real!!”

Dean’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening and what a terrible mistake he’d made. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Cas who was running towards him, but right before he reached Dean, a wall moved into his way and all he could do was slamming his fists against it. “No!”

“Cas!” Dean yelled, feeling his throat close up in panic.

“Dean, I’m alright! Look for Sam and the teenagers, I’ll be fine!” Cas replied.

“I’m gonna find you, you hear me?”

“You have to be careful, Dean. This place is dangerous, you can’t trust your own senses here.”

Dean pressed a hand against the cool stone of the wall, “Okay, got it. Nothing is as it seems…”

“Exactly. You need to keep a firm grip on reality, or you’ll lose yourself.”

Dean swallowed hard, this case was starting to be a real nightmare.

“Alright, take care of yourself.”

“I will. We can figure this out.” Cas paused, not wanting to leave Dean just like that, but they had to go separate ways if they wanted to have a chance of finding each other again.

Dean sighed, “I know.” He patted the smooth stone twice. “See you around, buddy.”

Cas raised his hand to place it on the wall, feeling Dean’s soothing presence for another last moment, “See you then.” He let his hand fall back to his side, turned away and started walking.

Now, Dean was alone. This place instantly seemed so much colder. And disturbingly quiet. Walking slowly through the sometimes more and sometimes less narrow corridors, he constantly felt on edge, like he was being watched, but there was no one around. Only the bare walls of the maze. Cas had said it felt like this place was breathing, so maybe it wasn’t all that far fetched to assume it might be watching him too. The thought made his skin crawl.

Dean hoped Sam was okay. He also hoped Cas would be able to watch out for himself. They were both smart and good fighters, they could take care of themselves, but this… This had stopped being a normal case when they’d stepped through that fucking door. And now? Now each of them was alone in this giant maze, with no clue of how to find each other and the missing kids.

Out of nothing, Dean heard a shout. A scream of agony.

“Sam!” He ran off in the direction of the voice.

“Dean!”

He ran as fast as his feet would carry him, the pain in his brother’s voice making his blood run cold. He turned one last corner and…

There was Sam, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, eyes empty and chest no longer heaving.

“No, Sam. Sammy!” Dean knelt down next to him, feeling for a pulse, but there was nothing. He was too late. He hadn’t been able to save Sam. It was all his fault.

“Why didn’t you save me?” Sam’s mouth was moving, forming words, but his eyes were still empty, his heart not beating, “Why did you let me die? I thought you wanted to protect me.”

Dean froze, eyes going wide. Then he remembered what Cas had told him. You can't trust your own senses here. Hallucinations…

He swallowed, “This isn’t real. _You_ aren’t real. You’re not Sam. Sam is alive.”

Whether he said it to himself or to the illusion, he didn’t know, but it did the trick. The fake Sam vanished together with the blood on the floor. Dean let out a deep breath.

Well, this was gonna be a real fun trip.

 

Sam was still sitting in the corridor where he’d been separated from Dean and Cas. He hoped they at least still had each other. But who knew, in this place, everything seemed to be possible.

He heard it again. The laugh of the girl he’d once wanted to marry.

“Sam?” he heard her call, “Sam, are you there?”

He curled in on himself, leaning against the wall where he was sitting on the ground. It couldn’t be her, it just wasn’t possible. He was over her. He’d let her go. He had Eileen now…

“Sam, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Her voice was warm.

Finally he looked up and there she was, just as beautiful as on the last day he’d seen her.

“Jess… What are you- How are you here?”

“Is that important? I just wanted to see you.”

Was she a ghost? An illusion? A shifter or something similar?

“But… you’re dead,” he stated dumbly.

Now her eyes darkened, “And whose fault is that?”

Sam tensed as he tried to swallow around the lump that was forming in his throat.

She went on relentlessly, her voice remaining impossibly soft, “Why did you leave me, Sam? I loved you. I _trusted_ you. How could you leave me to die?”

“I didn’t–” he rasped weakly.

“You did! You didn’t even tell me why! You kept all of that a secret. Why did you keep your past from me?” She sounded so upset, Sam felt his heart being squeezed inside his chest.

“I just wanted to keep you safe…”

“Yeah sure, and you know what that got me? It got me killed. Painfully, by the way.”

Sam let out a shaky breath. She was right. It was his fault that she died.

“You know what I think?” she went on, “You didn’t want to protect me from your past. You wanted to keep the truth from me of who you really are.” She stepped closer, bending down to whisper into his ear, “An abomination.”

Sam pressed his eyes shut tight, covering his ears with his hands as he buried his face in his knees. When he dared to open them again, she was gone.

So either illusions or hallucinations then. He could deal with that. Wouldn’t be the first time, anyway.

 

Cas was making his way through the maze with quick strides, trying to use his powers to find his way to Sam and Dean, but the magic thrumming loudly through every single wall drowned everything out. It wasn’t quite comparable to sound, but it’s the closest comparison he could find. There was so much “noise” that he thought he might go deaf, so he decided to mute his supernatural senses for the time being.

The silence was a relief and he finally was able to breathe properly again. Quiet like this, it was almost peaceful. But without his angelic senses, he was essentially human. Well, at least just as lost in this maze as a human. He still had super strength and his ability to heal, he wasn’t completely human, his grace was just sort of… drained. Not that he minded. Being able to taste properly was very nice. Sleeping wasn’t bad either. He was getting used to it already. If he was being honest, he wouldn’t even trade it for his wings if he could…

Taking another turn, he froze in his tracks. There was Dean, kneeling next to Sam’s lifeless body on the ground. A tear was streaming down his face, one hand balled to a tight fist, the other clutching Sam’s flannel in desperation.

“Why didn’t you save him?” Dean croaked out.

Cas felt like he couldn’t breathe. “What happened?”

“You didn’t save him! That’s what happened!” the hunter burst out, pointing a finger at him, “And now he’s gone!”

Castiel didn’t know what to do, so he stepped closer, “Dean, I–”

“No,” Dean retorted, his jaw set and his eyes cold, “Leave me alone, you’ve done enough.”

Cas felt his ribcage constrict painfully, hand coming up to reach out, but he stopped himself and let it hover awkwardly in the air.

Dean ground his teeth as he glared at Cas. “Aren’t you listening? I said leave. I don't need you anymore… Who needs an almost powerless angel, anyway?”

It felt like Cas’ heart stopped beating for a second. It felt like when Dean had told him to leave after the fall all over again. He was still an angel, but he felt like he might throw up regardless.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nausea, mumbling to himself, “No, this can't be real, Dean wouldn’t… Dean wouldn’t send me away like this again. Not after everything.” He closed his eyes tightly, thinking of how Dean told him he needed him, thinking of the mixtape and of everything else that had happened since then.

Cas straightened up again, leveling the wrong Dean with a stare to rival that of an archangel, “You are not Dean. This isn’t real. You’re not him.”

If possible, the fake Dean looked even angrier in the short moment before he vanished together with Sam’s corpse.

 

After sitting in the corridor for a couple more minutes, Sam had the suspicion that Dean and Cas were just as lost as he was. He got up from the cool ground and started walking. There was a breeze flowing through the corridors, but it was impossible to tell where it came from. He was on edge. There was just no way that Jess would be the worst thing lurking around here. If this maze was showing its victims their worst memories, well… it had a lot of material to draw from.

Suddenly there was barking to be heard in the distance and Sam’s blood froze.

“SAM!!”

Sam’s eyes flew wide open and before he knew what he was doing, he was sprinting down the halls towards the voice of his brother.

The screams of pain grew louder and louder and so did the barking as Sam drew closer.

“Dean!” he called out, but there was only a faint cry as response.

When Sam finally rounded the last corner, he saw Dean, lying on the ground, choking on his own blood as invisible hounds were ripping him apart piece by piece. Claws were cutting deep into Dean’s chest and stomach, teeth sinking into the flesh of his arms, legs and neck.

Finally the barking stopped and the hounds seemed to leave, blood dripping from their invisible snouts, leaving a dark red trail on the ground.

Dean tried to say something, but at first it only came out as a pathetic gurgling noise and he coughed up even more blood before breathing, “Sammy…” The word leaving him together with his last breath.

Sam couldn’t move, couldn’t _breathe_. Dean was gone. Sam was all alone. He fell to his knees. Seeing his brother die like this even once had been more than enough for a lifetime.

But that was exactly the point. He’d seen this before.

Just as he blinked away the tears clouding his vision, the scene in front of him disappeared. The corridor was empty, like there hadn’t been blood coating the stone just moments before.

Sam covered his face with his hands, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself.

This was going to be worse than he’d thought.

 

Dean was antsy. He really wanted to get out of this place — it was creeping him out. Sadly, it didn’t seem like he’d be getting outta here anytime soon. He didn’t like that prospect one bit.

Finding Sam and Cas was what drove him to walk faster. The problem was that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. This maze was so fucking big, the chance of finding them was so small, it was almost non existent. Still, he kept moving. They’d accomplished impossible feats before. They could accomplish this one too.

As he kept walking in this deafening silence, he felt something slip away, just out of his grasp. He didn’t know what it was, but it was already gone when he took a turn and almost ran into Cas.

“Cas,” he said with relief in his voice, smiling at his angel. But Cas didn’t smile back, his face was stony, his features that had softened over the years away from heaven were hard and cold.

The smile fell away from Dean’s face, “What is it, buddy?”

“Dean, after this case I’ll… I’ll be leaving. You don't have any use for me anymore when I’m almost powerless, so I won't be a burden to you.”

“What? Cas, we’ve talked about this, you’re not a burden, you’re our family. We want you with us. _I_ want you with us.”

“Then I’ll rephrase it. I’m sick of being your heavenly tool, so I’m leaving you. You sent me away before, so this shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But… Cas, I thought…”

“You thought what? That I’d stay with you for the rest of your petty little life? I have more important things to do. Heaven is taking me back, so I’m leaving. My home is up there, not here. I do not belong on Earth.” The last sentence sounded so bitter, it might as well have been said with disgust.

“Cas, no, this isn’t you. Is it this place? Is it messing with your head?”

“No Dean, I’ve never been so clear. Staying with you for so long… it was a mistake. One I do not intend to repeat. Goodbye, Dean.”

When Castiel turned around to leave, Dean felt something inside his chest break. He’d made Cas feel that way. Unwanted, not belonging, like a… a tool. But he was so much more to him. More than anyone had ever been. Not counting Sammy of course, but that was a different kind of love entirely.

As Cas was out of sight, Dean realized what had slipped from him before, because it now rushed back into him. His grip on reality. This was so not good.

 

Cas tried to remain watchful. He tried to keep a firm grip on reality so that he would be able to tell what was real and what wasn’t. But it turned out, that was a lot harder than he’d thought. The spell that was woven into the stone walls of this maze was very strong.

Strong enough to let his awareness slip just enough…

“Dean,” he said, eyes widening a fraction and a smile tugging on his lip at the sight of the other man.

But the grin that spread on the hunter’s face was all wrong. He took a step forward out of the shadow and Cas’ mouth went sour.

“Heya, Cas,” he said with that sickening smile, “Missed me?” Another step forward and his eyes turned black.

“No, this isn’t possible. We cured you. The Mark is _gone_.” He involuntarily took a step backwards, eyes blown wide.

“You can't cure me. This is who I am. A monster.” He stepped closer still, Cas drawing back further until his back his the wall.

“No, you’re not. You’re a good man. You deserve to be saved.”

Now the demon was laughing, he spread his arms wide and grinned again. “But I don't _wanna_ be saved!”

“Dean, that’s not true. This isn’t you. This can't be real. It can’t…”

“Yeah, keep tellin’ yourself that.” He stepped right into Cas’ personal space, pressing him further into the hard stone wall. “You like that?” There was this awful grin again that made Cas feel sick to his stomach.

The demon hummed, “You wouldn’t even fight back if I used you as my personal punching bag, would you? No… you let me hit you before. Almost kill you even. You’d let me do anything to you.” The smile on his face widened, eyes turning back to green, but they still didn’t resemble Dean’s eyes at all, they looked cruel.

“I could take you right here, fuck you against that wall until you scream in pain. You wouldn’t fight back, would you?”

Cas swallowed hard. He didn't know what to do, he felt like he couldn't move, so he remained still.

The demon leaned in close, breath ghosting over Cas’ skin as he spoke, “I wouldn’t even prepare you. Oh, you’d be so tight. Maybe I’d even draw blood, who knows… But I think I should find out, don't you think?”

Cas held his breath. Suddenly there were lips on his. Not soft or loving, but demanding, doing nothing but take, take, take. The demon bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and Cas struggled against his firm grip.

He felt a hand moving to his ass and with a short flash of grace, he shoved the offender away from him.

“You’re not Dean. Not even as a demon did he rape anyone. My Dean isn’t a monster. He’s a good man.” Cas drew his angel blade. “You, on the other hand…”

With one quick movement he plunged the blade into the demon’s chest. But instead of the usual flickering that he expected, it just faded away like the illusion it had been.

Telling apart reality and illusion was getting more difficult the longer he was here. He had to find Dean and Sam. Fast.


	5. Nightmares on memory street

Sam was still unsuccessfully trying to orientate himself in this giant maze, but that proved to be impossible since the walls kept moving around. How were they ever gonna find a way out of there?

As he was walking along a seemingly endless corridor, one of about five million other corridors that looked exactly the same, he stopped for a moment, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. Turning to his left, he saw something, or rather someone, he hadn’t expected to encounter here, even with all the madness going on in this place. He was staring at himself.

His other self was looking at him coolly, no emotion evident in his eyes, “Remember me?”

Sam just blinked dumbly at him for a moment.

“I’m you. From the time when you didn’t have a soul. You really should remember that.”

Sam’s mouth opened slightly around a silent “Oh”.

“So you do remember. How you let your brother be turned by a vampire? We did a lot of shit during that time… But you gotta admit, you liked it.”

“What? Are you crazy? I didn’t like it! I got people _hurt_!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t care at the time.”

“Because I literally didn’t have a soul!”

“So? Just admit it Sam, you enjoyed being rid of that burden. Souls are overrated anyway. Think about it, no more pain, no bad conscience. Nothing to worry about. It would be so easy.”

“No,” Sam shook his head, “You’re wrong. A soul is what makes us _human_. Without it, I wouldn’t be better than the monsters we hunt.”

“Are you though? Are you really better than them? You’ve done some terrible things in your life. That will never change. You know that. But without your soul you felt _free_. You did what you wanted, without guilt without _anything_.”

Sam swallowed hard, “Just because something might be easier, doesn’t mean it’s right.”

His soulless version scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Sam knew he’d done bad things in his life. But the other soulless people they’d met had been much worse than him. That had to count for something, right?

Sam took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and said as much to himself as to the illusion of himself, “Maybe I’m a monster, yes. But even as a monster I can do good. Monsters aren’t evil by default. We’ve met creatures who chose to be good. There’s Garth, the werewolf girl, Jesse, even some vampires. They may be monsters, but they’re _good_. And so am I, because I choose to be.”

The copy of him just stared for a moment, unblinking, then he disappeared into nothing.

Sam let himself sag backwards against the wall. He could do this. He could beat the labyrinth.

 

Castiel was feeling more alone than he had in years. The last time had been after Dean had sent him away. No, that wasn't true, the last time had been after Dean had said “yes” to Michael, but that’d been different. And this was also so very different. Dean was looking for him now and so was Sam. It was comforting, grounding, the knowledge that he had a place where he belonged. A place where he was loved unconditionally. A place he called home.

He started to feel tired and a little hungry, but now wasn’t the time. He had to keep going, had to find the brothers. His grace really wasn’t what it used to be, but that was fine. At least, most of the time. At the moment it was kind of inconvenient.

He was making his way through the endless corridors of the maze with quick strides, trying to ignore his very human needs and instead focusing on his need to see Dean and Sam again, healthy and in one piece.

“I will find them. They’re my family…” he mumbled to himself, not realizing he even had said that out loud until someone answered.

“You didn’t say that when you operated behind their backs.”

Cas froze in his tracks, eyes going wide. That was his voice. His own voice and it was speaking to him from… his left. He turned his head to the side and saw indeed himself standing there.

To many people they would’ve looked exactly the same, but Cas recognized that look in his own eyes. Before him was standing the Castiel who had been God, fueled by the souls of purgatory.

Cas’ eyes were wide in shock, his mouth slightly agape, while the other looked perfectly stoic.

“You tried to forget what we did, didn’t you?”

Cas swallowed, his mouth suddenly tasting sour, and averted his eyes, “Can you blame me?”

The illusion didn’t answer, just tilted his head and studied him instead. “What happened that we went from being God to…” he made a vague gesture at Cas, “ _this_.”

Cas clenched his jaw, “I learned from my mistakes.”

“I highly doubt that.” His other version stepped closer, “Because if you had, you’d be ruling heaven now instead of being an outcast.”

“No. Earth is my home now.”

The other Castiel just shook his head, almost looking pitiful. “You still don't have your crush on Dean under control, do you?”

Cas just glared.

The other rolled his eyes, “Why did I even ask… You became this,” he gestured at himself, “because of him. At least that’s what you say. But you knew he would keep you from fulfilling your purpose, would keep you from the power you deserve. So you betrayed him, went to Crowley. And you _succeeded_. For a few short moments, you held the whole world in your hands. Giving that up was the worst mistake you ever made.”

Cas’ voice was strong, full of certainty when he said, “You’re wrong. Turning my back to Dean was the worst mistake I ever made and I paid for it generously.”

“Think about it. For those few moment you were free. Free of the Winchesters, free of anyone who ever tried to tell you what to do. You could do anything. And you threw it all away, because you were scared.”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“Killing Raphael was the right thing to do. Working with Crowley was the right thing to do. Betraying Dean was the right thing to do… But you have to admit, you actually liked it. All that power…”

Cas was quiet for a moment, before he spoke softly, “But that power came with a bitter taste. I never wanted to betray Dean, I only wanted him to live the life he’d always wished for… and then the Leviathan happened…” He looked down at his feet, unable to look himself in the eye.

“I’ll never make that mistake again. I might not have much power anymore, but I have a home. A family that cares for me.” Suddenly full of determination, he looked up again, to find his other version gone.

 

Dean ran a hand through his hair. This was a shitty hunt. He had no idea where Sam and Cas were, they still hadn’t found the victims and he still hadn’t gotten to kill anything. Oh, and of course there was also the fact that they were trapped in a seemingly endless maze that apparently caused hallucinations. And it was totally not the good kind of trip. He just wanted to get home and watch Netflix with Cas and his brother. Maybe Jack would even join them.

But as things were standing, that wouldn’t happen any time soon… Speaking of time, he wasn’t sure how long they were in here already, time was kind of… blurry in this place. His watch and the time display on his phone weren’t working, so there was no way he could tell if it had been minutes or hours. He was starting to get tired though, so it had to be a while.

He hoped his brother and his angel were okay. Sammy was strong, probably the most psychologically stable of them, especially now since Lucifer was dead. Cas though… Cas was a different story. Dean didn’t want to think about how his past mistakes might be haunting him right now. He just wanted to take the guy into his arms and bring him home.

“Hello, son.”

Dean froze in his tracks at the sound of that voice, standing straighter by the second. Nothing in the last ten years of saving the world could’ve possibly prepared him for that.

The man stepped before him and Dean straightened up fully, like a good soldier. “Dad.”

There he was, John Winchester, dead for over twelve years now, standing in front of Dean like that never happened.

“It’s good to see you, Dean.” There was no real indicator that he meant what he said, though there also wasn’t one that he lied. It didn’t matter, Dean was used to that.

John took a step forward, towards Dean. It almost looked like he was about to smile, but it was gone before it could fully form.

“I’ve seen you’ve been… busy, the last couple years.”

“Yeah,” Dean ground out, “Lots of shit going down.”

John nodded, “But I gotta hand it to you. You and Sam, you fixed it. You actually managed to save the world.” Even praise sounded wrong from his father’s mouth, like it was a surprise that Dean wasn’t dead by now, slaughtered by some standard werewolf or something. Which, again, wasn’t exactly new for Dean.

But then John went on, “But that angel… he’s gotta go.”

Dean’s eyes widened for a moment, before he regained his composure, “Come again?”

“He’s the one who fucked up half the things you had to fix in the first place. Your strange… attachment to him isn’t professional, you can do better than that. He isn’t even a person, he’s a _creature_.” He spat the last word like it was the worst insult to ever be uttered out loud.

Dean balled his hands into fists, clenching his jaw. “You don't know him. He always stood by our side. He pulled me out of _Hell_.”

“He was just following orders, like _you_ should be doing.” The second half of the sentence was just a barely audible murmur, probably not meant for Dean’s ears, but he still heard it. Dean did everything to keep himself from squirming under the intense gaze of his father — he almost felt like a teenager all over again.

John paused for a moment, eyeing Dean wearily. “Oh no… Don’t tell me… don't say you’re infatuated with the damn angel. A creature, Dean? A _male_ creature?!”

Dean’s jaw muscles twitched as he tried to stay in control of himself.

John rubbed a hand over his forehead, shaking his head. “I thought that was just a stupid phase. I thought I’d screwed your head back on straight. Taught you to be a real man.”

Dean’s fingernails were digging into the skin of his palms. He tried to keep quiet, tried not to speak up, but it was too much.

“I’m not less of a man for liking what I like,” he grumbled.

“My son isn’t gay!” John snarled.

“Damn right, ‘cause I’m bi,” Dean snapped back, “You know, that’s a thing too.”

John ground his teeth together, “Don’t talk like that to your father. This has gotta stop. Get rid of the angel.” As he said that, he moved to walk past Dean, make his leave and have that be his last word, but he was stopped by a single word from his son.

“No.” The word made its way out of Dean’s mouth almost without his consent. His father’s disapproval had always been one of his biggest fears, also in relation to Cas and his own sexuality. But now… now that the man was standing right in front of him, he found that he didn’t care.

“What?” John asked, sounding like he was getting even angrier.

“I said no. Cas is family. And a long while back, I learned that family don’t end with blood.”

John scoffed, “Listen, son…”

But Dean wasn’t having it, not anymore, it was like a dam breaking. “No, _you_ listen. You don’t have the right to tell me how to live my life. I’m not a kid and I’m not your good little soldier anymore, haven’t been for a long time now. These last few years changed me. _Cas_ changed me. More than you ever could. He’s the best damn thing that ever happened to me and you don’t have a single fucking say in this, because all you know is prejudice!”

John looked shocked, staring at Dean with his eyes wide open. He’d finally snapped.

“Wake up, Dad. It’s not the fucking nineties anymore.”

Dean was only just restraining himself from throwing a punch, but he didn’t get to anyway, because John vanished right in front of his eyes.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the fog that kept him from seeing right through the illusion, when a desperate cry for help reached his ears. In an instant he was moving, racing towards the origin of the voice. He didn’t recognize it, so he was pretty sure it was one of the victims they were looking for. He turned around a corner and then another and then another until he found a boy, not older than 19, calling out for help. He was moving in a small space, like he was caged, banging fists against invisible walls, trying desperately to escape.

“Hey!” Dean tried to get his attention, but the boy was too absorbed in the illusion to even see him. Slowly Dean crept closer and gently grabbed the boy’s shoulders, shaking him lightly, “Hey, wake up, it’s not real.”

The dark haired boy blinked for a moment, shaking his head, then he focused on Dean, who let him go.

He tilted his head a little to the side, and wow, that should not make Dean feel like he was missing a part of himself, and asked in confusion, “Who are you?”

Dean eyed him for a moment, before saying, “I’m Dean, and I’m here to get you and your friends outta here.”

The boy let out a breath of relief. “I didn’t know if someone would be coming… I’m Lucas. Where are the others? Are you alone?”

“No, I am — _was_ — with my brother and a… friend. Things like this… they’re kinda our speciality. But we got separated, probably the same way as you. I haven’t found your friends yet, but Sam or Cas might.”

Lucas ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

Dean patted him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them and we’ll get you outta here. We’re professionals.” There was a pause, then Dean looked around and said, “C’mon now, we should get movin’.”

 

“Shit, not again,” Sam cursed to himself, standing in just another dead-end. This was getting increasingly frustrating, as Sam just couldn’t seem to find an intelligent way to solve the problem he was facing. It all appeared to be totally random. The turns, the dead-ends, the movements of the walls… he just didn’t get behind it all. He stared at the wall before him for a moment as though it might hold the answers, but it didn’t, so he turned around to get back on his way. But when he turned, he was suddenly staring into yellow eyes.

“You. You’re dead.”

But Azazel just grinned, “So were you, Sammy.”

Sam scrambled to get ahold of reality. “No, you’re not real, this… it’s the maze.”

The demon chuckled, “Well, maybe I’m not real, but this might come from your withdrawal symptoms. You remember what happened the first time you didn’t get what you need, don’t you?”

Sam’s throat ran dry, he felt like all the air was sucked from his lungs. The all too familiar craving surged up inside him and he felt his hands shaking. This breathing was harsh and labored, he felt dizzy and nauseous, like he’d throw up any second.

“No. No, that was _years_ ago, I’m clean. I’m clean!” Sam’s voice filled with panic. This couldn’t be real, he’d left that behind a long time ago.

Azazel’s eyes were full of pity and it made Sam even more sick. “Oh Sam, it was a fever dream. You’ll never be clean of my blood. And if you don't get more soon, you’re gonna die…”

Sam felt scorching hot and freezing cold at the same time, he sank to his knees on shaking legs, hardly strong enough to hold himself up. His vision blurred again and all of a sudden he could see blood on his hands. Thick, dark red liquid running down his fingers.

“Drink, Sam.” Azazel’s voice was distant, “Drink and you’ll feel better. You’ve always been my favorite…”

Sam tried to push it away, to claw his way back to reality, but it was just out of reach and he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t _think_. He left like he was burning out and freezing to death. His whole body was trembling violently and it took all his willpower to keep from puking his guts out. He’d left this part of himself behind. He hadn’t thought about demon blood for so many years. And yet, here he was, yearning for the taste of it like a man in the desert, dying of thirst.

“I know you want it, Sam,” Azazel’s voice whispered close to his ear, “All that power. The things you could do… You loved it. It’s time now, Sam, to become what you were always supposed to be…”

He tried to be strong, he did. But there was only pain, trembling, nausea and the _craving_. It was so intense that he thought he might pass out any second now, his vision blurring at the sight of the blood on his trembling hands. A sight that promised relief.

He was about to give in and lick the sticky redness greedily off his fingers, but he was ripped out of the illusion by a gut wrenching scream, echoing through the grey stone walls of the labyrinth.

He stumbled at first as he tried to get up, but as soon as he managed to get on his feet, he sprinted into the direction of the scream. It had to be the girl, Jenny, who’d been with the group.

After turning a couple of corners, he almost ran into them. Jenny was leaning into Ian, sobbing into his chest as he was holding her tightly in his arms, trying to calm her.

When he noticed Sam, he stiffened.

“…Jen,” he started silently, “Turn around. Do you… see him too?”

The girl slowly turned her head to glance at Sam through the corner of her teary eyes. When she noticed him, she froze. “Yeah…”

“It’s okay, I’m real,” Sam said, hands half raised in a placating gesture, “My name is Sam, I’m here to get you out.”

 

Dean’s vision was all red, but it slowly dissipated into grey stone walls with only a patch of red on the floor. No, a patch of tan _covered_ in red. _Cas_. As he looked down slowly, Dean could see his own hands shaking, coated in thick, dark red liquid, the Mark pulsing, satisfied underneath his skin. Dread started to replace the adrenalin high and he hardly dared to look down to his feet. When he did, he regretted it in an instant. There was Cas, lying on the floor, coat drenched in his own blood, the First Blade still stuck between his ribs. His face was bruised, beaten bloody, but Dean knew he didn’t even have a scratch, because Cas hadn’t fought back. He’d never fight back, because he didn’t want to hurt Dean, no matter what monster he became. And Dean really had to be a monster if he’d managed to kill something so holy. Something so precious to him.

His throat was painfully tight and he couldn’t seem to get air into his lungs. What had he done… what had he done? Cas had been willing to spend eternity with him even if it would’ve meant watching him become a monster, something so far from human that no one would’ve ever recognized him for one. And now… he hadn’t even fought for his own life just because he didn’t want to hurt _Dean_. It didn’t make any sense. Cas deserved so much better than him. Well, he would’ve deserved so much better, so much _more_. But now he was gone, had died by Dean’s own hands and Dean just didn’t know what to do. He wanted to bring him back, he would trade his own soul for him, though he knew it couldn’t be worth much anymore. He knew no one could bring him back. Dean wanted to be dead with him. But the Mark wouldn’t let that happen, so he was stuck here. Bound to become what he’d never wanted to be, without Cas by his side.

“You stupid bastard…” he pressed out as he couldn’t suppress a quiet sob.

Suddenly he was ripped out of his thoughts by a hand on his upper arm. Before he knew it, his hand was at the person’s throat, but as his eyes focused again, he recognized the boy… Lucas. Right, he was here, in the labyrinth, with Sam and Cas and these poor kids. Cas was alive. He hastily let go of Lucas’ throat and fiddled with his sleeve to check his arm for the Mark. It wasn’t there. He sighed in relief.

Lucas coughed a little, “What the fuck was _that_?!”

Dean ran a had over his face. “Sorry… It was a reflex. Comes with the job.”

Lucas took a second to collect himself, then he swallowed, “Okay, that… makes sense, but… what about… you know, that before that.”

Dean’s jaw twitched, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

And with that, Lucas let the topic rest. Dean was here to save them all, but he still was kind of a scary guy and Lucas was too smart to risk making him angry.

 

“So what you’re saying is… we’re trapped in a magical maze straight out of Greek mythology?” Ian asked after Sam’s explanation.

“And you’ve come to save us because you hunt the supernatural for a living?” Jenny added.

“Basically, yeah.”

“I don’t know, man, that sounds kinda fake.”

Sam scoffed, “Have you been awake since you’re here? You must’ve noticed by now that this place and what it does clearly isn’t natural.”

“He has a point, Ian,” Jenny whispered softly.

The boy sighed, “Fine, even if it was true, how would you get us out of here?”

“Well,” Sam started a little sheepishly, “I’m still kinda… working on that, but there’s always a way out and we’re gonna find it.”

“And what if we don’t?” Jenny asked further, voice trembling ever so slightly.

“Well, if I can’t figure it out, my brother Dean will, or Cas. And if all else fails, Mick and Jack will come looking for us.”

“Who are Mick and Jack? You haven’t mentioned them before.”

“Well, uh, Mick is sort of our IT guy, we like to call him our personal Brit. And Jack… Jack is our…” he wanted to say son, but that would probably sound weird to the teenagers and he really didn’t want to have to explain further. “He’s a kid we take care of after he lost his parents. We kinda adopted him.”

It wasn’t a lie. They didn't need to know that he was literally Lucifer’s child. Sam also didn't tell them that he felt more like Jack’s uncle sometimes and that Cas and Dean seemed to take over the roles as his parents over the course of time. It wasn’t something they ever talked about, it just sort of… happened.

Sam was just about to announce that they should get moving, when he felt a strange, but somewhat familiar sensation wash over him. It felt like he was losing control of his body. No, more like someone was taking that control from him. He had to lean on the wall for support, but then, from one blink to the next, he was standing upright, in the middle of the room, feeling the weight of an angel blade in his hand and the stench of blood in his nostrils. When his vision cleared a little, his eyes were met by the sight of Kevin. Lying in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were empty and he was motionless.

Only now did Sam realize that there was blood on his hand and the blade he was holding.

All of a sudden Kevin’s eyes snapped upwards to meet his, still empty, but with anger boiling behind them, “ _You_ did this. You _killed_ me.”

“Sam? Sam!” Someone shook his shoulder and he was back to reality, his heart racing and chest heaving.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked, full of concern.

Sam took a moment to calm his breathing and rapid heartbeat, then he inhaled deeply and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What did you see?” Ian’s voice was soft, reluctant, “…If you don't mind me asking.”

Sam sighed, “A friend. Who died. It was years ago…”

Ian nodded a little and slung an arm around Jenny, holding her close.

Sam brushed his hair behind his ears. “We should get moving. Be careful to not get separated.”

The couple nodded and they started walking.


	6. Would you save my soul tonight?

Castiel felt dizzy. Something wasn’t right. He shook his head a little to clear it, but all that did was make him more dizzy.

When he blinked the fog in his eyes away and focused on what was before him, he drew in a sharp breath, entire body freezing. It was a picture that had burned itself into his memory. Dean, face bloody and swollen, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, a deep stab wound in his chest. Cas’ heart skipped a beat or two. “Dean… no, this can't be… what happened…”

“You did it, Castiel.” The voice was right next to him, the eerily familiar sound of it making Cas’ blood run cold.

“Naomi,” he grit out. Looking down at his hands, he could see they were bloody, angel blade still in his hand and he dropped it like it was made of fire. “What have you done to me…”

“After all these years of struggle and rebellion, you finally fulfilled your purpose, Castiel. You did it.” Her voice was calm, but Cas’ thoughts were not. They were a whirlwind of pain, regret, guilt and grief. He had done this. He had killed Dean. The one man who had always believed in him, even after all his mistakes.

“No… he can’t… he can't be dead…” He fell to his knees, tears prickling in his eyes and nausea overwhelming him.

He tried to keep in control, but he failed just like he’d failed after Dean had said yes. Violent sobs were shaking his entire body as he cradled Dean’s face softly in his hands, pressing their foreheads together.

“It’s okay, Castiel. I’m proud of you. You did your duty.”

“Shut up!” he cried, holding Dean’s limp body a little tighter. “You don't know anything. You have no right… Just leave me alone… I never wanted any of this…”

The tears flowed and flowed and the only noise Cas could hear where his own sobs and the blood rushing through his ears as loud as a waterfall.

He thought Naomi was gone, that she had understood his warning for what it was and left him alone, but suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard her say softly, “Cas?”

He clenched his jaw, “Don’t call me that…” His voice was low and dangerous, but he didn’t move away, so he turned around with inhuman speed, pinning her to the wall, hands on her throat and rage in his eyes. “You dare calling me by the nickname he gave me after you made me _kill_ him?!”

“Cas! Cas, it’s okay! It’s me. It’s me!”

The sultry female voice changed into a deep one full of concern and steely eyes turned into apple green ones.

“Dean,” Cas breathed out as reality came rushing back into him and he instantly removed his hands from Dean’s throat to wrap his arms around his shoulders.

He could feel Dean breathe out in relief as the hunter wrapped his arms around Cas just as tightly. “Hey… Hey, it’s okay… I’m here. I found you…”

When they finally found the will to untangle from each other, Dean wiped Cas’ tears away with his thumbs and checked him for injuries. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Cas sniffled one last time. “Yes, I’m alright. The maze… it showed me… Naomi. She…” he looked at the ground and said very quietly, “She’d made me kill you. You were dead.”

Dean cradled Cas’ head in his hands like he was the most precious thing in the world and then took him back into his arms. “It’s okay, Cas. I’m fine. We’re both fine and we’re gonna get out of here.”

“I know,” Cas said, burying his face in Dean’s shoulder for just a short moment.

Lucas felt awkward just standing there, but he also didn’t want to disturb their loving reunion.

When they finally parted again, Dean cleared his throat, pointing at the teenager, “That’s Lucas, he’s one of the kids who got lost in here.” Then he looked at Lucas and told him, “This is Cas, I told you about him.”

Lucas shuffled from one foot to the other, but then stretched out his hand for Cas to shake.

“So, uh, you’re a real angel, huh?”

Cas tilted his head a little, “Yes.”

Lucas nodded, “Cool.”

“Are you done now?” Dean interrupted the awkwardness, “We still gotta find Sam and three other teenagers.”

So they walked on.

 

Lucas was surprised at how Castiel’s presence changed Dean. He wasn’t so gruff and scary anymore. He was… softer. Like the angel’s proximity alone was enough to make him melt in a way. Proximity was here kind of an understatement though, since they didn’t walk further than a few feet apart from each other. When it was time to rest, they’d sit next to each other. Inseparable was a strong word, but in this case Lucas couldn’t think of a better fitting one.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that mess with Naomi again,” Dean said, sitting on the ground next to Cas as they were leaning against the wall.

“I know. Me too… You’d think being forced to kill you a hundred times over would be enough for a few lifetimes. The labyrinth apparently had other ideas.”

Dean brought his hand up to squeeze Cas’ shoulder. “Y’know…” he swallowed, “I relived the Mark…” he let out a sigh and breathed, “I killed you…”

Now Cas turned his head to look at him, “Dean…”

Dean shook his head, “It wasn’t real, I’m fine. You’re here now…” He flashed a small, genuine smile and Cas returned it.

Then Dean stood up, stretched a bit and said, “We should get moving again.”

Castiel got to his feet as well and Dean was just about to turn and start walking, when he suddenly froze.

“No. You can’t be here, I left you. It’s been years, you don’t even remember me…”

Cas turned into the direction Dean was staring but saw nothing there, so it had to be another illusion. Lucas was still sitting on the ground and now curled in on himself a little more. Cas stepped forward slowly and reached out to put both of his hands on Dean’s shoulders and gently shake him awake.

“Dean. Dean, it’s not real. Wake up, Dean, come back to me.”

A hand came up to caress Cas’ cheek, but when Dean’s fingers came in touch with stubble, the glassiness in his eyes dissipated and he focused on Cas. His hand was still on his angel’s cheek, who didn’t show the slightest inclination to move away. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as they were just staring at each other.

Lucas had uncurled himself by now and was watching the scene before him with interest. It looked like they were milliseconds away from moving in for a kiss, but then Dean seemed to realize that his hand was still on Castiel’s face and he dropped it to his side, but not without having it linger just a second longer.

They were still standing ridiculously close when Dean cleared his throat a little and mumbled, “Thanks… for, uh, waking me up.”

Cas didn’t say anything, he just nodded.

Lucas kept quiet about it as they continued their journey through the endless corridors of the maze. He walked a bit behind them to give a little privacy, but not far enough to get easily separated.

For a while the three of them just walked in silence, then Cas asked quietly, “Who did you see?”

Dean sighed, looking down at the ground, “Lisa. And Ben.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dean nodded. “She asked me why I left them. Why I didn’t stay.”

“You didn’t have a choice…”

“That’s what I thought at the time, but… looking back now, it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

Cas looked down at his feet. “I saw you rake leaves there. You looked happy.”

Dean nodded. “I was, I guess.”

“You loved her.”

“I did. But that was a long time ago. I’m over her.“

“…She was the love of your life.” Cas couldn’t keep a slight tint of bitterness from his voice at saying those words.

Dean shook his head, “No. She wasn’t. I thought that for a while, but… she wasn’t.

“Living with them gave me an illusion of a normal life, but it’s always been clear that it wouldn’t be permanent. All I’d needed was an excuse and I was back into hunting right away. That’s who I am.” He shrugged, “I’ve been thinking about what ‘normal’ means for a long time now and I guess our normal is just different to other people’s, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, does it? If we were really normal, we would’ve never met you and Mom wouldn’t be back and who knows what would be with Jack. Maybe we’ll never have a white picket fence, but honestly, I don't need that anymore. Sam, you, Mom, Jack, even Mick. You’re my family, that’s all I need. We have our own normal and it’s perfect for us.”

Cas smiled softly at Dean as they walked just a tiny bit closer still.

 

It was good that they’d taken at least a bit of water with them, because this journey was drawing out longer and longer. Castiel was fairly sure that they’d been lost in this maze for at least one or two days now. Which were one or two days without food or sleep and only very little water. They were growing tired and sooner or later they’d fall asleep and who knew what could happen whilst they were unconscious.

At the moment Dean was sitting against the wall, dozing slightly, and Lucas was recovering from his latest illusion, while Cas tried to find out something useful about the spellwork in these ancient walls.

“Oh, dear Father, look how far you’ve fallen.”

Cas startled at hearing his own voice speak to him and turned around from where he’d been examining magical runes that were invisible to the human eye. There was he, himself, standing right in front of him, hair tousled and wearing a different coat, but undoubtedly him. He examined the other him for a moment longer and found more differences than just hair and clothing. His clone’s posture was stiff and his face absolutely blank. This was him right after he’d taken Jimmy as his vessel.

“You came too close to those humans and now look at yourself. You’re barely even an angel anymore.”

“Who says that’s a bad thing?”

Now Dean stirred where he was sitting and slowly blinked his eyes open.

“You rebelled, you destroyed heaven and chose disobedience for the sake of this man. Heaven hates you, your kin, your brethren, they hate you. And you don't even regret it?”

“I regret bringing them pain, but I don't regret rebelling. It was the right thing to do. I found my place here, on earth.”

“You’re an abomination. You bring shame upon every angel in existence. You lost everything and regret nothing. You must’ve lost your mind too…”

“No. I lost things, yes, but I gained so many that I never knew I was missing until I met Dean and Sam. So yes, I have made mistakes and some of them I regret terribly, but choosing humanity isn’t one of them.”

The other him wanted to say something, but he never got to, because suddenly there was a hand on Cas’ upper arm and he was spun around to face Dean. Castiel’s mind was clear in an instant.

“Hey, you okay? Are you with me again?”

“Yes, I am fine.”

Dean looked at him for another second, then let go of his arm. He didn’t need to ask what Cas had seen, he knew.

 

The angel was back to examining the Greek runes that were covering the icy stone walls, when suddenly Lucas called out to him, “Cas… something’s wrong. Dean, he… look!”

When Castiel turned, he saw Dean sprawled out on the floor, tugging at invisible restraints, eyes screwed shut and whimpering.

“Help me! Please, someone help me… Cas, help… Please…”

One look and Cas knew what Dean was reliving. He knelt down by his side and framed his hunter’s face with his hands.

“It’s okay, Dean. I’m here. I gripped you tight and raised you from perdition, remember? I’m here. Nothing can happen to you.”

When Dean wouldn’t stop shaking, Cas bent down to place a featherlight kiss on his forehead. To Cas’ own surprise, that actually did the trick. Dean relaxed and slowly opened his eyes.

He was still trying to calm his breathing as he instinctively clung to Cas’ coat, who held him tight until his heartbeat returned to normal.

“Thanks,” he said around the lump in his throat as Cas helped him up. It took him a moment too long to let go of the coat, but no one said anything. It’s not like they could blame him.

All of a sudden, there was a shout.

“No! Help! Get them off!”

The group of three exchanged looks and it was clear that everyone of them had heard it. Suddenly Lucas seemed to realize something.

“That’s Andrew!” he burst out with wide eyes and ran off into the direction of the cries for help, Dean and Castiel racing after him.

They found the boy not far away, lying on the floor, kicking and screaming, “Get them off! Get them off me! Help!”

Lucas didn’t hesitate to kneel down next to his friend, while explaining, “Some asshole in school once dumped a bucket of cockroaches on him while he was sleeping.”

He grabbed Andrew’s arm firmly as to not be confused for another bug and shook the other boy gently, “Hey. Andrew, wake up. It’s just a dream. A nightmare. Come on, wake up.”

Carefully he brushed Andrew’s hair out of his eyes and the teen stopped kicking. Slowly he came back to himself and opened his eyes, focusing on Lucas.

“Hey,” he swallowed.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks…”

Lucas helped him get to his feet and Andrew pulled him into a hug. “It’s good to see you, man.”

When they parted again, his eyes landed on Dean and Castiel.

“Who’s that?”

Lucas sighed as he picked up Andrew’s glasses which were still lying on the floor. “You may want to sit down, cause that’s kind of a long story.”

 

Andrew stared at Dean and Castiel with his mouth fallen open. “That… is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re really an angel?”

“Yes,” Cas said.

“And you hunt monsters together?”

“Yep, with my brother. And a few other people by now…” Dean told him.

“That’s so cool!”

“You already said that, dude,” Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Shut up. So how are we gonna get out of here?” Andrew asked.

Dean sighed, “We’re working on that. We still gotta find Sam and your other two friends and then find a way to shut this place down for good. Cas, you got anything about the spellwork?”

“Well, I know now where it originates. It’s ancient Greek, which isn’t a surprise, but it is related to Phobetor, the god of nightmares.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t really fit the Minotaur myth…”

“No, but it explains the hallucinations.”

Dean nodded, “If you find anything else, tell me immediately, yeah?”

“Of course.”

The angel set back to work and Dean leaned against the wall next to him, leaving Lucas and Andrew as much to themselves as was possible in this place. They sat next to each other on the floor, their backs leaned against the hard stone wall.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lucas asked again.

Andrew nodded, “I’m fine.”

Lucas stared him down until he visibly deflated, “Okay, I’m not fine… but I will be as soon as we get out of this… this _nightmare_.”

They were quiet again for a moment until Lucas asked, “What did you see? I don’t mean the bugs, I know what that was, but… what else did you see?”

Andrew shrugged weakly. “Mostly some memories of high school. Also that you and the others would abandon me…”

“Oh, Andy… I’m so sorry. You know we’d never do that, _I_ would never do that. We won’t leave you, okay?”

Andrew nodded a little, “Okay.”

There was a pause, then he asked, “What did you see?”

Lucas looked down at his feet for a moment, hesitating, “Mostly people I love either leaving me… or dying.”

“Oh my God, Luke! That’s terrible!” Andrew exclaimed, throwing his arms around his friend, “I’m so sorry, I wish I’d been there to help you…”

“It wasn’t your fault, you had to deal with a lot too.”

Dean was watching them a little from the corner of his eye and remarked almost offhandedly, “Yeah, well, at least you didn’t have to relive Hell…”

It wasn’t clear if it had even been meant for their ears, but they’d heard it and were now staring at Dean in shock. No one said anything for several beats and the hunter turned away again to watch Cas.

A moment later Andrew turned his head to look at Lucas and breathed, “He’s been to _Hell_?”

Now Lucas looked at him too. “Seems so.”

“Holy shit. I mean, who knows what else these guys have been through…”

“Yeah, that actually explains a lot.”

 

Cas slumped against the wall next to Dean, tired of examining the spells and runes and also just generally _tired_. Dean let himself sink to the ground and Cas followed, both sitting down, personal space an alien concept between them.

Cas looked over at the two teenagers, sitting just as close and talking quietly. “Will they be okay?”

Dean glanced at them and looked at Cas again. “They’re both strong, from what I’ve seen. They’ll need time and each other, but they’ll be alright.”

Cas nodded, his head hanging a bit. “And you? Will you be alright?”

Dean’s laugh had a slightly bitter tint to it, but by far not as much as it could. “Ah well, I’ll always be a little broken, but that’s part of the family business, I guess.”

Cas just stared at him, obviously waiting for a real answer.

Dean swallowed. “Honestly? I haven’t been this good for a long time. Many years probably. So yeah, for the first time in what feels like forever, I really believe we’re all gonna be alright. Things are good.”

A small smile was tugging at the corner of Cas’ mouth. He knew what Dean had said was the truth. He couldn’t remember a time that’s been this good for them. Present situation excluded. But Dean was right. They were all a little bit broken, but they were healing. Together. And they were happy.

Dean interrupted the moment of companionable silence by saying, “You look good, man. That mess with heaven and the angels always pulled you down, but now that that’s over… you look happy.” He smiled, adding, “Humanity’s good on you.”

“I’m not human, Dean…” Cas corrected him, rolling his eyes affectionately.

“Aw, stop nitpicking. You eat, you sleep, yeah you can still heal and even smite sometimes, but c’mon, you’re essentially human. And y’know what? To me it looks like you _like_ it.”

Cas smiled shyly, looking at his feet and that was all the answer Dean needed.

“Chuck only knows why, but you like it.” Dean chuckled fondly, slinging an arm around his oh so human angel, “I’m glad you’re happy. You deserve it.”

“So do you.”

And damn Dean for not having noticed how close they were really sitting, because now, that reality crashed down on him like a rooftop. He still had his arm around Cas’ shoulders and their sides were pressed together. He was almost overwhelmed by Cas’ warmth seeping into his own skin and all he wanted was to lean closer, let it consume him until everything he felt would be just Cas. They were both staring into each other’s eyes, faces only inches apart as they’d done it so many times prior. It was one of these moments where Dean was hit by Cas’ confession, the “I love you” that Dean still hadn’t managed to say himself, the fact that they both wanted this. They weren’t strangers to this tension, but their resolve seemed to crumble more and more since Michael. This thing between them was dangerous, a tactical weakness that could be used against them in all the worst possible ways. They both knew it and this knowledge seemed to be pretty much the only thing holding them back anymore. As though they were still debating if they should risk taking that step.

What Dean didn’t know was that Cas knew another reason the hunter was holding back. He was scared of fucking things up, scared of driving Cas away, but Cas also knew that this fear was unfounded and he was doing what he could to make Dean see that this could work, that Cas would never leave him, no matter what.

What Cas didn’t know was that Dean also knew another reason for the angel to hold back. He feared being separated from Dean in death. The lifespan of a human was awfully short and if Cas got a taste of what they could have together, the loss would just hurt so much more. But Dean knew they could find a way, they always did. So far, nothing had succeeded in keeping them apart. Why should death manage it? They could work this out together, they could get their “happily ever after” if only they were brave enough to try…

Dean was still half debating with himself whether to throw caution to the wind and take the leap, when he suddenly realized that Lucas and Andrew were still right there, sitting at the opposite wall. He swallowed hard, trying to calm his racing heart and leaned back against the wall, breaking the moment. He recognized his own frustration in Cas as the angel sighed heavily and let his head slump against the wall they were leaning on.

Lucas and Andrew were pretending not to listen as the two men were talking near-silently, but in reality they were too curious to keep their ears to themselves. Especially after they’d witnessed that almost-kiss with the most longing looks both of them had ever seen. It was hard to catch what they were saying though, since their voices were hushed and neither Lucas nor Andrew could read lips. What they did catch were mostly some illusions that Dean and Cas had apparently lived through.

Dean mentioned that he’d seen his mom die and his brother and also how someone named April had killed Cas. Cas told Dean that he saw him as a demon and also himself how he’d been before they’d met and himself after he’d betrayed them and declared himself the new God. All of these illusions were scary and horrible enough, but from the context it seemed as though all of this had really happened at some point. Which was… just really damn fucked up.

Lucas and Andrew were lost for words and could only listen to Dean and Cas giving each other comfort.

“This is _crazy_ , man,” Andrew whispered after a while of silence.

“I know. And here I thought _we_ have problems…”

Andrew chuckled dryly, “Yeah, no kidding. These guys lived through Hell and _worse_.”

“Yeah,” Lucas glanced at them where they still talking to each other, but now more lighthearted and for once actually smiling, “But look at them now. They look happy. Like it was all worth it.”

“They kinda do, I guess.”

“It’s actually kind of amazing that they survived all of that crap. And they can still laugh. They’re not… _broken_. Not really. Maybe they were at some point, I don't know, but now they’re okay.”

Andrew looked at him. “You think we’re gonna be okay too?”

“Well,” Lucas huffed a laugh, “I think if these guys managed to save the world more than one time, it should be a piece of cake for them to get us, Jenny and Ian out of here, right?”

Now Andrew smiled too. “Right.”

“And after that…” Lucas shrugged, “We’ll have time to recover. Like I said, it’s kind of amazing how much people can go through without coming out of it broken.”

The two boys had been so immersed in their discussion that they hadn’t even noticed Dean and Cas falling asleep. A while ago Lucas would’ve never thought it possible, but they actually looked _cute_. There really was no better word for it. Their bodies were pressed together from head to toe, Dean’s arm wrapped around Cas’ shoulders and Cas’ arm around Dean’s waist. Dean’s head was pillowed on Cas’ shoulder and the angel had his nose buried in Dean’s hair. They could as well be spooning for how intimate it was.

“Are they married?” Andrew asked quietly all of a sudden.

Lucas shook his head, “They’re not wearing rings. But judging from how they’re acting around each other, they must be together for a long time now.”

“It’s a bit weird, don't you think?” Andrew went on, “They look so… badass.”

Lucas tilted his head with a slight squint, “Badass people can be gay too, or… y’know… simply not straight.”

Now Andrew’s head snapped around to look at Lucas, “What? No. I didn’t mean– Of course they can, _duh_. I just meant it’s weird to see them like… this,” he made a vague gesture at Dean and Cas. “They look so… soft.”

Lucas’ eyes widened, “Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you…”

“It’s fine, man.” Andrew chuckled and patted Luke’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about it.”

They fell silent again just in the right moment to witness Dean trying to bury his head even deeper in the crook of Cas’ neck with a soft smile on his face, while Cas pressed his nose further into Dean’s hair, breathing in deeply, a serene expression on his features and a smile tugging at his lips. They were absolutely adorable.

Lucas wore a wistful smile as he said, “I think we should stay awake to keep watch, just in case something happens.”

Andrew nodded beside him. “That’s probably a good idea.”


	7. Close encounter

Andrew had thought his illusions were coming rapidly, but he’d had no idea. Dean and Castiel both had more of them than Andrew and Lucas combined. And they seemed to be a lot more awful too. But they always managed to wake the other up somehow. Lucas and Andrew did the same for each other. Luke couldn’t help but notice some similarities in how they acted around one another. How he tended to stand a little too close to Andrew without meaning to, but the other teen had long given up on telling him to step back. How Andrew would tease him whenever he took something too literal. It was strange, seeing these things reflected back at him in such a different context.

Andrew and he, they were just friends. Close friends. Who were kind of competing for Sue’s attention. That was it. Totally normal, right?

What had he been thinking about? Ah right, the illusions. Speaking of which, Castiel seemed to have one at the moment…

Cas was talking to some invisible entity, fear in his eyes and breathing flat. Lucas didn’t want to know what might do that to a literal angel.

“Thank you for letting us out,” the leviathan grinned at Cas, wearing his face, but with empty eyes. The grin was all wrong and it made Cas feel sick.

“I didn’t– I didn’t mean to–”

“But you did it anyway. We should show you our thanks, shouldn’t we? Let’s have some fun together…”

“No.” Cas almost choked on the word as it caught in his throat, “No, you’re not here, we sent you back to purgatory. I- I wanted to stay there to atone for my sins…”

The grin on their face grew wider, black veins spreading, “Oh Castiel, we’re gonna have so much fun.”

“Cas! Cas, wake up. Come back here, this isn’t real. We sent Dick and the rest of those fuckers back to Purgatory where they belong. You’re back on Earth, you’re _safe_. Cas, you’re safe and you _stayed_. Because we _want_ you here. I don’t care about your ‘sins’, I just want you here, I want you to wake up. Dammit Cas!” Dean was shaking Cas, trying to bring him back to reality.

Suddenly Dean’s own vision became blurry. “Oh no…”

He was standing at the shore of a river. But not any shore of any river. It was a place that he would never be able to forget. A place that still sometimes haunted his nightmares when Cas worked a case without him.

There was a man wading through the water, towards the deeper places. Dean’s breath caught in his throat as he saw the familiar coat disappearing more and more in the river’s stream. He wanted to scream, to shout at Cas to come back, but no words came out. All he could do was stand there and watch his angel disappear underneath the surface of the river.

Something was carried to the shore by the current and Dean’s feet dragged him forward to see what it was. The coat. The old, stupid trench coat that was now soaked with water and some dirt. Dean’s body almost moved on its own accord as he pulled the piece of clothing from the water, letting it drip off a bit before carefully folding it in half and cradling it like it was his most precious possession. In a way it was, because it was everything he had left of Cas.

He took a shaky breath, willing the tears to stay at bay.

All of a sudden, he heard Cas’ voice calling his name. He thought he must be going mad, almost like it had been after Cas had stayed in Purgatory and he’d seen him everywhere. He felt hands on his cheeks, so achingly gentle.

…Wait. Purgatory had happened after the occurrences at the river.

Cas was still cradling Dean’s face when the hunter slowly blinked his red, teary eyes open again and finally focused on Cas.

“Cas…” he croaked out and all but threw his arms around the angel’s shoulders.

“It’s okay, Dean. Whatever you saw, it wasn’t real.”

“I saw you… When you walked into the river…” he pressed out, holding onto Cas as hard as he could.

“Dean… I never knew… that was this terrible for you?”

“Of course it was, you idiot.”

“I’m sorry…” now Cas could feel tears of his own well up.

“What happened?” Andrew asked tentatively beside them.

“I’m not sure,” Cas replied, swallowing his tears. “I think my illusion might have triggered one for Dean…”

Lucas and Andrew looked at each other.

“That can happen?”

“Apparently so.”

“They’ve really been through a lot of shit.”

Neither Dean nor Cas was quite sure who of the boys said what, but they didn’t particularly care either.

 

The group walked along the corridors of the maze in silence for a while. None of them knew how long they had already been lost in this place but there still was no sign of Sam, the two other teens or an exit. The silence was gloomy and tinted with hopelessness.

Lucas couldn’t stand it anymore and asked, “How did you two even meet?”

Dean seemed startled by that question for a moment, but then he glanced at Cas and began to tell, “Well, um… I kinda sold my soul to save my brother and, uh… Cas pulled me out of Hell. I didn’t know that at the time though and when I first met him I… stabbed him in the chest.” Dean finished with a warm smile and Cas was looking fondly at him as they walked.

That was… certainly an unusual first meeting, but whatever, right?

Lucas shrugged, “Cupid’s arrows come in many forms, I suppose.”

It took a short moment for that to sink in, but when it did, Dean’s eyes widened and a dark blush spread on his face.

“Excuse me?” he choked out.

“What is it?” Lucas asked, confused at first, but then it clicked and his mouth dropped open, “Wait, are you telling me you two are not…?”

Dean desperately tried to will his deep blush away, but to no avail. “Yeah– I mean, no– I mean… We’re not… We’re friends.”

Andrew was gaping too, stammering unhelpfully, “But… You were… I… uh…”

When Lucas turned back to Dean and Cas, he suddenly noticed that _the angel was blushing too_. Now he knew for sure what was going on here. They were totally in love with each other, but too chicken-shit to act upon it. Something about that felt a bit too familiar to think about.

Lucas snapped his mouth shut and mumbled, “Sorry, just… forget I said that…”

As silence once again settled upon them, Dean and Cas even made an effort to walk further apart from each other than usual.

It was odd, thinking about how they’d first met. A lot had changed since then. They’d found friends and lost them, they’d found a home of their own, they’d saved the world a few times. But above all, _they_ had changed. Sam had grown to be a leader, Dean had figured out he wasn’t as straight as he’d thought and Cas had become more human than any other angel. They’d been through so much shit, but somehow they’d made it out alive and were now better off than ever. Though thinking about it now, Dean did miss the permanent sex-hair Cas used to have all those years ago…

Dean chanced a glance at the angel walking beside him and he found his blue eyes smiling at him. Seeing Cas smile always managed to do crazy things to Dean’s insides and he couldn’t hold back his own smile.

They kept swaying into each other’s personal space, they just couldn’t help it. Lucas thought it was adorable.

 

Castiel’s stomach grumbled and he frowned upon hearing Dean chuckle next to him.

“Sorry, man, but I’m still not used to you getting hungry,” he said with a shrug. “Hey, how about this: as soon as we’re out of here, we’ll get some burgers, huh?” He poked the angel in the belly and Cas couldn’t keep up the frown any longer.

“That sounds really good.”

Dean grinned at him and Cas’ stomach suddenly felt like a swarm of butterflies and _that_ had nothing to do with a lack of food.

Castiel liked to think about their past, how they got here. He liked to think of the moment he’d seen Dean’s soul for the first time. Even after everything that had happened since then, it was still just as beautiful and bright, just like the rest of him. Dean’s eyes were still so impossibly green, Cas could get lost in them for hours. He could swear that the freckles on Dean’s face had grown in number… Cas was sure Dean had only gotten more attractive over the years, or maybe he’d just learned to appreciate his looks more. Either way, the stubble on Dean’s jaw only added to it. Cas wanted to know what that stubble would feel like against his own…

He snapped out of his reverie when he realized he’d been staring. Trying not to look at Dean, he decided to examine the walls instead. This place was odd. Different from anything he’d ever seen. The magic was old and very powerful. It was fascinating but also deeply unsettling. Cas hoped they’d make it out soon.

As he let his eyes drift upwards, he was surprised to find stars in the sky above the maze, but that surprise dissipated after merely a second, getting buried underneath something else…

A shooting star lit up the night sky, followed by another, and another… These weren’t shooting stars…

“No…” Cas pressed out as his throat closed up. “The angels, they’re falling.”

He could only watch as his brethren fell down from Heaven, their wings burning and breaking during their rapid descent.

“This is all my fault… I did this…”

“Cas. Cas, listen to me. It was _not_ your fault. Metatron did that, he tricked you, you couldn’t have known,” Dean told him, hands on either of Cas’ shoulders.

The angel hung his head, shaking it softly. He’d brought that upon the angels, they had every right to hate him. “So many angels died because of me… because of my stupid mistakes…”

“No, Cas. You just wanted to help your brothers and sisters, you didn’t do anything wrong. That was all Metatron,” Dean cradled Cas’ face in his hands, “Cas, it’s okay. Gabe fixed it, remember? Heaven is fine. _You’re_ fine.”

Cas blinked for a moment, feeling the fog that laid heavily on his mind lifting again.

Dean let his hands linger for a second before he removed them from Cas’ face. “You okay?”

Cas thought about that for a moment, then he nodded. He could still feel the warmth of Dean’s hands on his skin.

It wasn’t a lie, he really felt okay. Seeing this terrible mistake of his again hurt, of course, but the knowledge that Dean above everyone else had forgiven him… It was like healing grace on an open wound.

“Um… guys?” Andrew said with a shaky voice.

Dean and Cas had been so caught up in each other that they’d actually managed to overhear the loud, giant footsteps approaching them. At once, they both turned to face the direction they were coming from, Dean drawing his gun and Cas letting his angel blade slip into his hand.

“Get behind us!” Dean ordered as they got into fighting stance. Andrew nodded and dragged Lucas along with him to do as they were told.

The footsteps grew louder and then they rang clear enough to be recognized as the sound of hooves on stone. Dean and Castiel locked eyes for a short moment.

The creature rounded the corner and Dean swallowed. It was about nine feet tall, with a human upper body made of muscle, two hairy legs with hooves, a tail and the head of a bull with two massive horns. Its eyes were red with no visible pupils but it seemed to fixate the two men with its stare nonetheless.

The monster huffed through its nostrils, chomping at the bit and then it charged, running at them with the speed of a truck and probably just as heavy. Dean fired a few shots with his gun, but it didn’t really do anything to the creature except maybe slowing it down a little and distract it.

It was quite obvious that they couldn’t just stop that thing, so why even try? One look and curt nod was enough to get the two hunters on the same page. They moved in unison, sidestepping the Minotaur’s attack in an elegant twirl to opposite sides of the corridor, letting it run into nothing but air. Now Dean drew his own angel blade, giving the gun to Lucas so that they’d at least have _something_ to defend themselves.

“Let’s do this,” Dean said right before he ran at the creature, dodging its swinging tail as it turned around and managed to cut it straight across the chest before he was flung through the air by a strong, muscular arm. The Minotaur had merely a scratch on its skin.

It let out a wild, almost deafening mooing sound right before running towards Cas. Dean groaned as he got up off the floor. “Cas,” was all he said before throwing the angel blade for Cas to catch and the angel did just that, without even having to look. He twirled both blades in his hands and then ran towards the charging Minotaur. Right when they would’ve clashed, Cas let himself fall backwards at full speed, sliding through the monster’s legs, arms outstretched is that he cut both of the creatures ankles right above the hooves. It howled in pain and stumbled a little as it turned to face him again and Cas used that bit of time to get to his feet and charge once more. He threw the blade in his right hand at Dean who caught it wordlessly, getting ready to attack the monster’s back. Cas jumped up and punched the creature hard in the face. Hard enough to cause one of the massive horns to break and fall to the floor. Meanwhile Dean plunged his blade deep into the monster’s back. The Minotaur screamed, turning around fast as it tried to get rid of the blade in his back which Dean was still holding onto. In doing that, it hit Cas with its tail, sending him flying into a wall. Another forceful turn and Dean’s hold on the blade almost slipped. He managed to pull it out of the creature before he too landed on the hard ground. The wound in the monster’s back wasn’t even bleeding.

When its red eyes landed on the two boys, Cas got back to his feet as fast as he could manage. Lucas was holding Dean’s gun in shaky hands, doing his best to position himself in front of Andrew, who apparently didn’t like that one bit. Right before the Minotaur could charge, Cas cut deep along its thigh to get its attention away from the teenagers. The creature spun around, hitting Cas hard with the back of its hand and sending him flying into the wall yet again.

“Run!” Cas yelled at the two boys from where he was lying on the floor, but they were petrified. He got back to his feet just in time to see Dean dodging multiple blows that were aimed more or less at his head.

Dean moved backwards, trying to get some space between himself and his opponent, but that didn’t really go well. Where was the fucking Colt when he needed it? He must’ve lost it somehow in this chaos. Yep, there it was lying, a couple feet behind Lucas and Andrew. Perfect…

“Do something, Cas!”

“But what?!”

“I don’t know, man!” He barely avoided being hit in the head, “Make something up!”

As he dodged the next blow, Dean managed to slice the Minotaur’s palm, but the damn thing didn’t even flinch.

Cas thought for a moment, then he charged right at the monster, basically tackling it into the wall. That finally gave Dean the opportunity to catch his breath a little and get some room between himself and the creature.

The Minotaur pushed itself off the wall with a hoof, trying to headbutt the two men, but they sidestepped the move and the creature almost ended up running into the opposite wall.

“Didn’t you say something about the maze being alive or whatever? Can’t you, uh, read its mind or something?” Dean dodged another punch, slicing into the monster’s forearm as he spun on his heels. “Forget that, I’m talking bullshit.”

“No, Dean, that’s brilliant! I can try to use the magic of the maze against it. It would be similar to… mind control.”

“Awesome, then stop talking and do it!”

“You need to stall for me!” he shouted, throwing his blade at Dean as he sprinted right past the monster.

“I gotcha!” Dean replied, catching the weapon.

Cas ran to the boys, yelling, “Run, dammit! Now!”

Finally Andrew shook himself out of his stupor and grabbed Lucas by the arm to drag him along behind Cas. The angel ran to the next smaller corridor and laid his hand on the stone wall.

The Minotaur grabbed Dean with his huge hand, lifting him off the ground. “Cas, now would be a good time to get the hell on with whatever you’re doing!”

The beast threw him a few yards through the air and he landed hard on the stone ground.

Cas’ heart was in his throat. Only a little, he almost had it, one last surge of grace and… There!

“Dean, get over here! Now!”

A wall was moving to separate the smaller corridor from the one they were in now. It was moving slowly as Cas had wanted, but Dean needed to hurry up. Cas ushered the teenagers through but hesitated to go too. Not without Dean.

“Dean!”

The hunter picked himself up off the ground and ran at the Minotaur. He slid through its legs, got back onto his feet and ran towards Cas, picking up the Colt in the process. He only had enough time to either turn around and shoot or slip through the narrowing opening between walls. He couldn’t risk getting separated from Cas and the teenagers again, so he sped up and squeezed through the gap right before it closed completely. With a quick look he assured himself that everyone had made it through in one piece.

There was stomping, panting and huffing on the other side of the wall, but they were safe. For now at least.

“Damn great timing, Cas.”

“Well, we’re a good team, you and I.”

Dean smiled, still catching his breath. “Damn right.”

Dean clapped his angel on the shoulder, letting his hand linger a little. They locked eyes for a moment, before turning to check on Andrew and Lucas.

Lucas was still shaking, Dean’s gun in his hands, and the hunter carefully took it away from him again. Andrew straightened his glasses and laid a hand on Lucas’ shoulder to get his attention, before pulling him into a hug. The other boy relaxed momentarily.

“Looks like there’s… _something_ between them,” Dean mumbled.

Cas arched an eyebrow at that, which Dean pointedly ignored.

“So how’d you do that?” Dean started, looking at Cas again, “You really mind controlled the fuckin’ maze?”

Cas chuckled lightly, “Something like that.”

“And uh… could we use that to get outta here?”

“No, it wouldn’t let me open a door to our own dimension, I can only move walls inside this one. I’m not even sure it will allow me to do that a second time, it might adapt to this kind of manipulation to withstand it.” There was a pause. Suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea, “Though I suppose I could use ‘mind reading’ to map the maze out… at least roughly.”

“You’re kidding. You can really do that?” Dean was impressed.

Meanwhile Lucas and Andrew were still busy fussing over each other.

“It’ll take a bit of time, but I think it’s possible,” Cas replied with a nod.

Dean grinned, “You’re awesome.”

 

Sam was staring at his phone that was slowly running out of battery. He might not have any reception in this place, but he could still look at his photos and he’d been staring at the photo of the poem for what felt like hours now. Ian was recovering from an illusion and they took the time to rest for a while.

“Ian, are you okay?” Jenny asked, drawing soothing circles on her boyfriend’s arm.

He nodded, “Yeah. I’m alright, babe.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re here. I am sure.”

“Are you good to go again?” Sam asked them.

“Did you find something out?” Jenny wanted to know.

Sam looked at the ground. “No,” he said and started walking.

He knew he was missing something. The poem had to have a meaning, but he just couldn't figure it out. It wasn’t an anagram, it wasn’t a numeric code of some kind, just what the fuck was it?

“Ew, what’s that smell?” Ian remarked all of a sudden after a couple minutes of walking.

“It smells like old blood,” Jenny stated with disgust.

Sam had to agree, it smelled like the corridor with the rotten blood on the walls.

“Be careful,” he told them before stepping cautiously around the corner. There, in front of his feet, laid a corpse. Well, actually it was more of a skeleton covered in rotting blood.

“Must be one of the previous victims…” he mused. “You probably shouldn’t look at this.”

He took a step forward, squatting down to get a closer look at the human remains. The skin and muscle tissue hadn’t simply decayed, it was completely gone, contrary to the blood that was basically everywhere. Inspecting one of the bones closely, Sam noticed small indentations, which most likely stemmed from teeth. The body had been eaten, entirely stripped to its bones. The only other creatures that did this were wendigos.

“Are you done?” Ian inquired, “We wanna get away from this awful smell.”

Sam stood up again and answered, “Yeah sure, let’s go.”

“Well, I bet that person smelled nicer a couple years ago… y’know, with their skin on.”

At the sudden sound of that voice, Sam froze in his tracks. Slowly he turned his head to the side and found Lucifer in jeans and a plain teeshirt smiling at him. “You. You’re not here.”

“Hey, Sam. I’m baaaaaaaaaack~”


	8. Hello madness my old friend

“We’ve been stuck in this maze for about two or three days now, luckily with some water, but it’s impossible to find the exit through sheer luck. This poem has to be the key… if only I could figure out what it means. Oh, and there’s also still that monster that we have to kill and the fact that Dean, Cas and the two teenage boys are still missing isn’t helping either.” Sam looked to the side to see Lucifer doing the moonwalk. Sam smacked his hand against his forehead, “Why am I even talking to you? You’re not even real…”

“Or… am I?”

Sam rolled his eyes, “No, you’re not, you’re just another hallucination caused by the magic of this maze.”

And _man_ had it been a ride to explain that to Jenny and Ian.

“Or…… am I?”

“So… how do you even know he’s… Satan?” Ian asked awkwardly, “Does he have horns and a tail and a pitchfork or something?”

“No, uh, actually he just looks like a dude in jeans and a teeshirt,” Sam answered, then turned back towards the devil again who was now wearing a red suit, two blinking plastic horns and had a tiny pitchfork in hand. “Could you stop being so dramatic for a second? Seriously, all you’ve done since showing up is annoy me.”

“What are you expecting, Sam? I’m the devil. If you don’t like that outfit, just say so,” Lucifer replied with a shrug, changing his attire back to normal. “By the way, you’re taking this a lot better than the first time round.”

“Yeah yeah, it comes with practice… Now could you just stop bothering me or be actually helpful?”

“I don’t know, I don't think I can.”

Sam shot him his best bitchface.

“But how do you know it’s him then?” Jenny asked further.

“Well, I… uh… kind of know him.”

“Only kind of? Come on Sam, I was _inside_ you. That _was_ pretty intimate.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever, not everyone needs to know about that.”

“What?” Jenny inquired.

“Uh, nothing.”

“How do you know the devil?” Ian wanted to know.

“Well, that’s kind of a long story, but my brother, Cas and I stopped the apocalypse about nine years ago. And we met Lucifer there. And a couple of other times too, but don’t worry, he’s dead now.”

“Rude,” Lucifer said.

“Shut up,” Sam retorted.

“What?” Ian said with surprise.

“Not you, him.” Oh god, this was gonna be a long day.

 

As the group kept walking through random corridors, Lucifer was wearing the most ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and was making an effort of taking pictures with his phone of fucking _everything_. Like a damn tourist.

“Would you just stop? Everything here is literally just grey stone.”

Lucifer pouted exaggeratedly.

“At least turn off the sound effect.”

“Party pooper.”

 

“For the last time, stop singing right into my ear!” Sam massaged his temples, “You’re giving me a headache and I still have no clue what the poem could possibly mean.”

“What’s so special and important about a stupid poem? Poems are boring.”

“It might be the key to get everyone out of here.”

“Booooooooooring.”

Sam sighed, he was getting tired of this attitude and the hallucination didn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon, so he’d just have to put up with it and play along.

“You wanna hear it?”

Suddenly the devil was sitting at Sam’s feet, waiting eagerly.

“Fine…” He didn’t even have to read it, he’d been staring at it long enough to memorize it by now.

“ _Show me your secrets and I’ll show you madness,_

_Show me your light and I’ll bring you darkness,_

_Show me your dreams and I’ll give you nightmares,_

_Tell me a lie and I’ll burn out your heart_ ”

“Ooooh, I like that one. It suits me.”

“Yeah whatever, I just can't seem to figure out what it means…”

Lucifer was still sitting on the floor and shrugged, saying almost offhandedly, “Maybe you’re just not looking closely enough.”

Sam just stared at him for a moment, “What do you mean?”

Now Lucifer stood up and started to wander aimlessly along the wall, “ _I mean_ , you should’ve stopped staring at your phone and paid some attention to your surroundings instead, Sammy boy.” He reached out to the side and let his fingers brush against the dusty stone wall as he walked towards the next parting of the ways.

Sam’s eyes widened as an idea hit him. In quick strides he walked over to where Lucifer had been walking and started to wipe away the dust on the walls between the two parting corridors. When his fingertips came in contact with surface irregularities on the otherwise perfectly smooth stone, he wiped the rest of the dust away and uncovered a small inscription. It was written in Ancient Greek, but it was obviously just a single word. Sam might’ve not been able to read Ancient Greek, but he recognized that word in a heartbeat.

“It’s a word from the poem…” he mumbled to himself.

“Congrats, Sam! You won a golden washing machine! Took you long enough. Now, what could that possibly mean?”

Clearing the wall that led into the other corridor of the dust too, Sam found a different word from the poem and realization hit him. “The poem is a map.”

“Whoop, you just won another golden washing machine! I get all tingly, when you’re being smart like that.”

Sam ignored him, he needed to tell the teenagers.

 

“So you’re saying, the poem is a map…?” Ian recapitulated warily.

“Yeah, well no,” Sam winced a little, “See, at each parting of the ways is a word of the poem inscribed on the wall. If we follow the words in the order of the poem, we’ll either get to the center of the maze or to an exit.”

“But what would we do in the center?” Jenny asked.

“Since we don’t even know if that way leads to the center, there’s not really much of a point in discussing that.” He winced again, eyeing something to his left. “If we really end up in the center, it might at least be easier to find the others from there.”

When Sam winced again, making a face, Jenny leaned closer and asked silently, “What is he doing right now? You know… Lucifer.”

“He’s trying to braid my hair.” Another wince and Jenny furrowed her brow in confusion. “He doesn’t actually know how to braid.”

The awkward silence that followed was broken by Ian who cleared his throat and said, “Alright, so should we get going?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They walked mostly in silence, with Sam making the occasional odd comment about Lucifer’s behavior. At each parting of the ways, they searched for inscriptions on the wall and Sam chose the one that continued the poem. It went pretty well, apart from Jenny’s minor melt down during another illusion of hers, but that was sorted out quickly by Ian who took her into his arms. She was still shivering a little when they resumed walking.

“I hope Lucas and Andrew are okay too…” Ian remarked out of the blue.

Sam’s look of determination softened as he turned to the teenagers, “Hey, if they’re even remotely as strong and brave as you two, they’ll be fine.”

Ian looked at the ground and nodded.

“How are they? You haven’t really talked about them since I found you.”

Now a small smile made its way onto Ian’s face, “Lucas is the smart one in our group. Sometimes I feel like there’s nothing the guy doesn’t know. Seriously, you could probably ask him about tomatoes and he’d tell you something you didn’t already know. Andrew on the other hand… I don’t know… he has this devil-may-care attitude, always jumps into everything head first, but he’s a lot smarter than he lets on. Oh, and he’s totally a nerd, even though he pretends to be all macho. They’re the best friends ever since becoming roommates at college. Almost constantly trying to compete for Sue. She’s not interested in either of them though, poor guys.”

Sam smiled to himself. “You know, apart for that last thing, this sounds very much like my brother Dean and his best friend Cas.”

Ian’s eyebrows moved up his forehead. “Really?”

Sam let out a short laugh. “Yeah. Dean also has this attitude and he likes to charge into a situation without thinking. He also used to be all macho ladies man, but lately he started to be more himself, which is a nerdy and really smart guy. And Cas knows basically everything about whatever you can think of, because he’s literally older than dirt. Except when it comes to social interactions, then he’s often completely out of his depth, but he’s gotten better at it over the years. Probably thanks to Dean…”

“Oh yeah, that also kind of sounds familiar.”

“What a weird coincidence.”

“Totally. It sounds almost like they’re the same people or something.”

Sam snorted. “Well, in that case Andrew and Lucas would have to be more than just friends.”

Jenny had stopped shaking by now, but was still leaning into Ian and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“Uh, well, um… I’m not sure I should tell you this since it’s kind of private…”

“Oh come on, Sam,” Lucifer chimed in. “Everyone with eyes can see it, so no need to be all secretive about it.”

“Right, um, fair point,” Sam mumbled, before moving on to explain, “Well, Cas and my brother are in love with each other, but they’re both too stubborn to admit it, so they’re just kind of stuck pining for each other. Which has been going on for several years now.”

“What really?” Jenny squeaked.

“You’re kidding,” Ian blurted out.

“I’m absolutely serious. I don’t know how long they’ve had these feelings for each other, it must’ve happened kinda gradually? I have no idea to be honest, but it’s gotten really annoying in the last five years or so. I just want them to be happy. They’d be good for each other. I mean, they’re basically married _already_. Everyone who sees them interact agrees, but they’re still missing out on quite a lot of intimacy they both quite obviously crave…”

Ian and Jenny were just staring at him for a moment and one of them breathed out a quiet, “Wow.”

“Shit, sorry for rambling, I just… yeah. Sorry.”

“Hey, there’s no need to be sorry. You care for them. You want them to be happy and it seems like they could find that happiness in each other. It’s perfectly normal to be invested in your brother’s and friend’s happiness. You care for them. It’s okay. Nothing to be sorry for,” Jenny soothed.

Sam gave her a thankful smile, but before he could say anything, they were facing another fork in their path. They were already at the end of the poem. The last word had been “out” from the line “tell me a lie and I’ll burn out your heart”. Sam was quick to identify the word “your” out of the three options, but all three of them were rather shocked to find that way led into a dead end.

“Are you sure you picked the right one?” Jenny asked, looking around at the walls.

“Yeah, I checked three times, it must be here,” Sam answered.

“But it isn’t,” Ian unhelpfully pointed out.

Sam stared at the wall in front of him. “Maybe that wasn’t what the poem means, maybe I was wrong…” he mumbled to himself.

“Aw, come on, Sammy,” Lucifer spoke up from where he was leaning against the wall, “You can do better than that. So stop whining and use that pretty brain of yours underneath this glorious mop of hair!”

Sam was still staring at the wall. It _had_ to be here, there was no other possibility, but he was missing something. Something just out of sight.

He took a step forward and quickly started to dust off the wall with his fingers. _There_. There was something underneath. He removed the dirt as best as he could and found a small picture of a heart engraved in the stone.

“Tell me a lie and I’ll burn out your _heart_ ,” he thought out loud and laid a finger on the symbol, pushing it like a button. It actually gave way, let itself be pressed inwards and as it hit its final position, the wall started to move out of the way.

The new opening led into a big hall, shaped like a circle, the walls of the maze towering high all around it. They’d reached the center.

 

There he was, standing where Castiel had been standing moments before, healthy and whole. But then a blade had speared the angel’s chest from behind. Now, only seconds later, everything was quiet. Dean was standing beside Cas’ dead body, wings scorched into the ground, cruelly reminding Dean of what he had lost. The world was peaceful around him, birds chirping in the woods close by, but it was as though all of it had lost its meaning. Everything felt so dull.

Dean felt hollow and numb. There was hole in his heart in the very distinct shape of a trench coated angel. He tore his eyes away from the wing marks and forced himself to look at Cas, one last time. At his rumpled clothes, that ill-fitting suit, the blue tie, the tan coat… He would’ve liked to see him in hunter’s clothing one day… He let his eyes drift to Cas’ hands, strong hands that could kill in an instant but at the same time could be the most gentle Dean had ever known. He wondered what those hands would’ve felt like in his own. Then he looked at Cas’ face, his stubble that he thought about on more than one occasion, the lips he’d fantasized about in lonely nights, his dark hair that Dean would’ve loved to run his fingers through and his eyes… They were closed now, but Dean would never forget their specific shade of blue. He yearned to see them one more time.

And that was when the numbness gave way to unbearable pain. It hurt so much that Dean could barely breathe. He sank to his knees and involuntarily clutched to Cas’ coat. He could feel tears well up in his eyes and he knew it would be pointless to try holding them back.

“Cas…” he breathed out, his bottom lip trembling. And from one moment to the next, his whole body was trembling with choked out sobs. How was he supposed to move on from this? How was he supposed to live without Cas by his side?

He cradled Cas in his arms, pressing his own face into the angel’s hair as he wept for the love of his life.

“Please…” he begged quietly, “Please come back to me, you son of a bitch…”

He held onto Castiel’s limp body for dear life, deeply afraid to let go, because if he let go, it would be real. But this couldn't be it, right? Cas always came back to him, he _always_ came back. As he opened his eyes for a moment, he saw the giant wing marks that were burnt into the ground again and he knew… He knew this time it would be permanent. Cas was gone.

A new wave of tremors and core-shaking sobs crashed down on him and he held Cas’ body just a little tighter.

When he came back to himself, he opened his eyes to a pair of blue ones. A shade of blue that was imprinted on Dean’s mind for eternity. Those blue eyes were red with tears, just as Dean’s own. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered other than the fact that Cas was alive and well and _there_. He couldn’t help clutching to him with all of his strength and Cas wrapped his arms easily around him, holding Dean close as his heart stopped racing, his breathing calmed and his body stopped shaking in favor of melting into Cas. Dean buried his nose under Cas’ jaw as he basically wrapped himself around his angel in an attempt to get closer still. Breathing Cas in was soothing the pain in Dean’s chest. _Damn, he smelled so good…_

Only when Dean was close enough to feel Cas’ heartbeat against his chest did he calm down completely, going almost lax against Castiel’s warm body, overwhelming relief flooding his system. They were both still sitting on the floor and the position was a bit awkward, but a more comfortable sitting position definitely wasn’t worth letting go.

Cas’ own tears were drying as well by now as he held Dean in his arms, who had finally stopped shaking. He’d never seen the man like this, so broken and vulnerable. So full of longing.

“Who did you see?” Cas rasped out. It wasn’t really a question. More a request for confirmation.

And Dean did confirm, with his voice raw from crying, unable to say anything but the truth, “You.”

Cas held him a little tighter still.

“Yeah, best friends my ass,” Andrew mumbled under his breath.

Lucas just nodded in agreement.

 

“Wow,” Ian said as he walked with Jenny and Sam into the very center of the round site.

There on the ground was another inscription of the poem in a circle where gray stone changed into marble. Standing in that centered spot, Sam noticed something. Not far away from where he was standing, something lay on the floor that shone in the diffuse light. He went to take a look at it and found it to be a sword. As he picked it up, he noticed inscriptions and ornaments engraved in its handle. He recognized the sword from illustrations in books he’d stumbled upon several times during research for other cases.

“What’s that?” Jenny asked curiously.

“It’s the sword of Aegeus. According to the Greek myth, it’s the sword that Theseus used to kill the Minotaur,” Sam explained.

“But if the sword is here…” Ian started.

“How is the Minotaur still alive?” Jenny continued.

Sam shrugged, “Myths can be wrong. Maybe Theseus didn’t manage to kill it and got eaten. Or he actually lived to tell the tale, but lied to make himself look better. We’ll probably never know, but this sword should be able to kill the thing anyway.”

 

“Are you okay?” Cas asked in a low voice.

“Yeah, ‘m fine,” Dean replied.

They fell into silence again as they walked. Cas ached to pull Dean close, wanted to comfort him in whatever way he could. Dean’s hand was so near. He longed to take it into his own, thread their fingers together, feel the callouses against the skin of his palm.

But instead, he laid his hand on Dean’s shoulder where it always went in moments like this and Dean leaned into it, seeking Cas’ gentle touch.

The angel sighed, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that…”

The “because of me” hung in the air despite not having been spoken out loud.

“I know.” Dean’s voice was still raw. “It wasn’t your fault. Just… try to be more careful. Watch out for yourself. Stop with the stupid self-sacrifice. I can’t watch you die on me again.” Now Dean looked up from the floor and into Cas’ eyes. His look was pleading, almost begging and Cas just couldn’t say no to him.

“Dean…”

And that was the only answer Dean needed. No one could say his name like Cas did. It made him smile.

A shout broke the moment between them. “Whoa, what the fuck!”

They both turned to find Andrew and Lucas standing in front of a pile of bones.

“Guys, check this out,” Andrew called to them.

Upon closer inspection it was obvious that those were no human bones. They were huge and somewhere in the pile was a bull’s skull peeking out.

“Did someone bring a cow in here or something?” Andrew asked.

Lucas rolled his eyes, “No, this has got to be a skeleton of a Minotaur, you nacho.”

“But there was only one Minotaur,” Cas spoke up before Andrew could bitch about being called a nacho, “Which, according to myth, has been killed by Theseus.”

“Well, if this are the remains of the _real_ Minotaur, then I’d like to know what the fuck we were fighting a few hours ago,” Dean replied.

“That is an excellent question,” Cas agreed.

Lucas and Andrew shared a look of equal parts horror and confusion.

 

Slowly but steadily they were coming closer to the center of the maze, guided by Castiel’s angelic map. But when Cas’ eyes suddenly clouded over and he stopped walking, Dean knew this wasn’t good.

Cas felt hollow, like a piece of his heart was missing, but the stubborn thing just refused to stop beating. They’d tried to find a way to save Dean for months now, but none of them was strong enough to keep Michael under control during the expelling ritual Mick had found. Cas felt hopeless, lost. He wanted to crumple underneath the weight of it all.

Everything had been for nothing. Stopping the apocalypse, his rebellion, it had all been useless because now they’d ended up exactly where they’d always tried to prevent coming. Dean had said “yes”. And not the million apologies in his eyes as he’d done so could weigh out his loss. Castiel understood why he’d done it, to save Sam and Jack. But he’d rather have died than see him possessed by Michael. Now it was too late.

Cas sat down on the floor and started praying, “Dean… I don’t think you can hear this, but… I need you back. We all need you back. You have to fight him, Dean. I know, if there is someone who can beat Michael, it’s you, but you have to keep fighting. Don’t let him push you down because it’s safer or easier, you were never one to give up, not even when it would be better for you. So don’t you dare start now. You’ll fight him and you’ll win, Dean. Please… For me…”

He was so tired of trying to be strong for Sam and Jack, he was falling apart without Dean. He felt tears wetting his cheeks and opened his eyes again to see a familiar face looking down on him, but it wasn’t Dean behind those green eyes.

“He can’t hear you, you know?” Michael said.

“Dean, Dean you have to fight him. If you can get ahold of him we can expel him, but you have to fight!”

“Oh Castiel…” he shook his head slowly, pitifully, “He can't hear you because he’s long gone.”

“No…” Cas croaked out, standing up on unsteady feet.

“Your Dean is dead.”

“No!” he screamed, hot tears spilling from his eyes. He felt his heart break and his lungs burned. Dean couldn’t be dead, he couldn’t. Cas wouldn’t be able to live without him. He didn’t know how.

“And look at you, you are a hot mess… killing you would be an act of kindness.”

“Dean please,” he pressed out between violent hiccups, “you have to be in there, you _have_ to. I can’t lose you. Please come back… Come back to me…”

Michael clenched his jaw, eyes hard. “I’ll say it one last time. Dean is dead. Are you’re not worth the waste of grace to join him.”

With those words, Micheal vanished in a flutter of wings and Cas was all alone. He felt himself crumbling. His knees gave out beneath him and he sunk back onto the floor. So this was it. Dean was gone forever.

He curled up against the wall and stopped trying to hold it together. He cried and screamed and raged and when he was too tired to scream, he just sobbed as the tears kept flowing without his permission.

Suddenly when he felt warm arms curl around him and the familiar scent of Dean flooded his senses, he remembered what had really happened, that Dean had fought and he’d won and they’d gotten him back and they were okay.

Dean hugged him close and he started crying all over again. He had never seen Cas like this. This wasn’t just a few small, quiet tears. This was ugly crying, Cas’ body shaking with violent sobs and hiccups. Dean felt his own eyes stinging as he held Cas in his arms, who practically clung to Dean for dear life, his face buried in Dean’s neck and shoulder.

Dean held him a little tighter. Carefully he brought one hand up to stroke through Cas’ hair and the angel whimpered.

“Shh, ’s okay, Cas. I’m here. I’m so sorry. So sorry…” Dean whispered, voice full of emotions as he carded his fingers through Castiel’s hair to soothe him, “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Let it all out.”

And Cas did. He let everything out. Everything that he’d bottled up in the past couple years. The guilt about betraying Dean with Crowley, the pain about seeing the other angels hurt, the heartache at being sent away by Dean and the endless heartbreak at losing him over and over again.

Dean wasn’t sure how long they sat there, as he felt tears of his own slipping down his cheeks, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to hold Cas in his arms and never let go.

When the sobs finally started to die down and Cas’ death-grip on Dean loosened, the hunter swallowed hard. He didn't want to let go. Not just yet. All he wanted was to hold Cas for the rest of his life and _oh god, he was gonna tear up again_ … But then he realized that Cas had already untangled himself and was now wiping away the tears on Dean’s cheeks. What else was Dean supposed to do than return the favor? Cas’ eyes were red and puffy and he’s left a wet patch on Dean’s shoulder, but Dean thought he was beautiful anyway.

When they’d finally dried each other’s tears, Dean started to speak, voice thick with emotion, “I’m so sorry, Cas. I’m so sorry you had to go through that… because of me.”

“Dean… I know…” Cas’ throat was raw and his voice hoarse as he spoke, “You had to save Sam and Jack… but don’t make me lose you ever again, you hear me?”

Dean swallowed, couldn’t do anything beyond nodding before he wrapped Cas into his arms again.

Cas buried his nose in Dean’s neck, sniffling a little before he admitted, “I prayed to you, Dean… every night. I knew you probably couldn’t hear me — prayers don't work like that — but… it made me feel closer to you.”

Dean pressed him a little tighter against his chest. “But I did hear you… I don’t know how or why, but I did. And it gave me strength to keep fighting. And when I saw Michael beating you up and Sam and Jack… I couldn’t take it anymore. I screamed and hit Micheal with everything I had. I just couldn’t stand the thought of having to see you die again. This time at my own hands… It would’ve killed me…”

Dean felt his bottom lip wobble at the admission and Cas leaned back, placing his trembling hands on Dean’s cheeks. Then he leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together and both closed their eyes.

They stayed like that for a long moment, just enjoying the silence and being close to each other. When their heartbeats had finally calmed down, Dean started to speak again, “Y’know… there’s one good thing about this mess with Michael…”

Cas leaned back to give him a look of confusion.

“I could see you. The real you. Through his eyes, I could see your true form without burning.”

Cas’ eyes widened and he swallowed hard. “And?”

Dean gave him a tentative smile, “Beautiful.” He felt his cheeks heat up at the admission, but seeing Cas smile after all this was so worth it.

Andrew and Lucas just stood by and watched, exchanging glances every now and then, but not daring to speak so as to not disturb the two. It was a bit awkward, but what else were they supposed to do? Those guys had it _bad_ for each other.

 

They were walking again, Dean fighting with himself to keep from reaching out and bringing Cas impossibly close. But suddenly his mind was taken off the angel beside him and to the loud footsteps echoing slightly off the walls behind them. Dean turned, but couldn’t see anything yet. He didn’t need to, he knew what was coming for them.

“Hurry up, it’s coming closer,” he told the others, then turned to Cas, “How much further is it?”

“Not far. Less than a mile.”

As the footsteps kept closing up, they started running, following Cas’ lead through the seemingly endless corridors that all looked the same.

“We’re almost there,” Cas told Dean as they were running still, but as they should’ve reached their destination, all they found was a dead end.

 

Sam was still holding the sword in his hand as he wandered the hall in the maze’s center. There was dust everywhere but on the marble floor, as though it was used more frequently than the rest of the maze. Maybe the Minotaur was sleeping here, who knew? He only now noticed that Lucifer was gone, had probably been for a few minutes now. Sam breathed a small sigh of relief.

As he looked around the wide space, his ears picked up on trouble at one of the walls bordering the center. His mind immediately went to his brother and Cas.

“Come on!” he shouted at Jenny and Ian as he sprinted towards the source of the noise. At least he knew now how to open these inner walls, but he didn’t know what would be waiting on the other side…

 

They were trapped, there was nowhere to go. With a wall on one side of the corridor and a monster waiting on the other, they were pretty much out of options. With their backs against the wall, they got ready to fight the creature that just rounded the corner. It stomped its giant hooves and charged, but suddenly the wall behind them opened and Sam’s voice yelled at them, “Get in here!”

They quickly did as they were told and avoided the Minotaur’s horns narrowly by doing so, but of course the creature followed them through the new entrance. At least this large hall gave them more room to move and dodge during the fight.

Sam raised the sword he was holding and the teenagers got out of the way as far as they could. He swung the blade at the monster a couple times but couldn’t seem to hit as he simultaneously had to dodge the blows it was directing at him.

Meanwhile Castiel started to unbuckle his belt and pulled it out of the loops. He made eye contact with Dean and they nodded at each other before Dean took one end of the belt while Cas kept the other and then… then they ran. They ran at the creature as fast as they could and when they reached the Minotaur, they bowed down, each running past it on opposite sides with the belt taut between them. They hit the monster with enough force to knock its feet out right under it and it fell.

Sam didn’t waste time. He stepped forward, raised the sword and plunged it into the Minotaur’s back. Then he stepped away, thinking their work to be done.

As it turned out he was wrong, because the creature slowly picked itself up from the ground, panting, but it did not attack. Not yet. It just rightened itself achingly slowly, on unsteady hooves.

“I- I don't understand. That was the sword of Aegeus, it should kill the Minotaur,” Sam stammered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

“That is not the Minotaur,” Cas told him.

“Yeah, we found the skeleton on our way here,” Dean added, “Probably killed by your little sword. But whatever that thing is, it’s not that easy to kill.”

The creature was now completely upright again, but still didn’t move. Suddenly the panting stopped and the monster’s form seemed to dissolve into some kind of mist made purely of darkness itself. There was a clattering sound as the sword hit the ground.

When the air cleared up again, the Minotaur was gone and there was a much smaller woman standing in its place. But one look was enough to know that this wasn’t a normal woman — it was clear she wasn’t human at the very first glance.

She was pale, her skin having a sick greenish tint and looking unhealthily dry. She looked fallen in on herself with hunger, ribs well visible underneath the thin, ragged garments she wore. Her knees were swollen and the nails were grown long on her bony fingers. Her cheeks were almost dripping with blood and she looked like she was perpetually crying. It was hard to tell if the blood and the tears were two separate things or one and the same. Dirt and dust covered her shoulders in a thick layer and she grinned through chattering teeth with dead, empty eyes.

She could easily give all fucking horror movies a run for their money.

“That’s Achlys,” Castiel breathed out, eyes widened in recognition.

“What?” Dean asked.

“Achlys, the eternal night before chaos, also mist of death. She’s a greek goddess who is very little known. She’s basically the personification of misery and sadness,” Cas explained.

“That explains actually a lot,” Sam mused.

“Great, at least now we know what we’re dealing with. How do we kill it?” Dean wanted to know.

But before anyone could even think of an answer to his question, all three of them were thrown backwards by an invisible force.

Sam was the first to get back on his feet, but as soon as he got close to the goddess, she grabbed him with one bony arm and flung him half across the hall like he weighed nothing. As soon as Cas was standing again, he let his angel blade slip into his palm. It wouldn’t do much, but it could buy them time to figure out how to deal with her.

Looking over at Dean who was just straightening back up, Cas realized what their only chance was.

“Dean, the Colt!”

Dean gave a nod, drew the powerful gun and aimed, but before he could cock it and pull the trigger, Achlys was there, grabbing his wrist with the strength of a vice, breaking the bone with ease. The weapon landed on the floor and Dean was thrown against the far wall, hitting the ground with a thump.

Gunshots rang through the maze as Sam shot at the goddess with his own gun. It didn’t hurt her obviously, but it was enough of a distraction to allow Cas to charge with his blade while she was sending Sam flying again. The angel managed to plunge the blade into her side, but she didn’t even flinch. She just turned her head around to face Cas, using one hand to hold him in place by his neck and the other to grab his hand holding the blade. Slowly, she pulled it out, while Cas was using every ounce of angelic strength he still had in him, but she was stronger. He struggled against her firm grip but to no avail. Agonizingly slowly, she turned the blade around, Cas’ hand still clasping the hilt, trying with all his might to stop her, but all it did was slow the process down. She turned the point of the angel blade towards Cas’ abdomen and was just about to deliver the final blow, as suddenly someone tackled her from behind. It shouldn’t have worked, she shouldn’t have fallen that easily to the ground, but she simply hadn’t seen it coming.

All of a sudden free from her grip, Cas stumbled backwards and lost balance. Hitting the ground, he took a moment until he noticed who had ripped the goddess away from him. Dean.

And now she was holding him up against a wall only with one hand on his throat, long fingernails already digging into his skin and drawing blood.

Dean could feel his own blood trickling down his neck where she held him in place. He knew that move had basically been suicide, but he just couldn’t let Cas die again, not on his watch. He was fighting for air, kicking and writhing, but her hold remained steady, the sickening grin not once leaving her face. She brought her other hand up to Dean’s ribcage underneath his clothes and he shuddered. Her hands were as cold as those of a corpse. She pressed her long nails against his skin until she breached it and then kept digging deeper. Dean groaned, still short on air. She dug through his flesh right between two ribs and Dean’s vision blurred. He was close to passing out both from pain and air shortage when she went right through his lungs, now almost reaching his heart. Dean pressed his eyes closed, waiting for everything to go black.

A shot echoed off the grey stone walls all around them. The goddess stilled. Opening his eyes again, Dean saw a hole in the side of Achlys’ head. She removed her fingers from Dean’s chest and also from around his throat and let her hands fall loosely to her sides, bloodshot eyes wide in shock. Dean gasped for air, sucking it eagerly into his damaged, bleeding lungs, choking and coughing in the process.

Then the goddess slowly disintegrated into the same dark mist that she had stepped out of. The mist sunk heavily to the ground, where it joined the shadows and lastly disappeared within them. Looking to the side where the shot had come from, Dean spotted Cas lying on the floor, breathing heavily, Colt still in his hands, aimed at the spot where the creature had been standing only a moment before.

Dean managed a small, tired smile and croaked out, “I knew one day it’d pay off to teach you how to shoot.”

That kicked Cas back into gear and he scrambled to get up, hurrying to kneel down beside Dean.

Inspecting his hunter’s wounds, he mumbled, “What the fuck were you thinking, Dean. She almost killed you. Why did you…”

“Yeah well,” he coughed, “I saw you die four times today. Ain’t happening again, Cas.”

Cas sighed, opening Dean’s shirt to examine the damage, “I suppose we both should be more careful during hunts in the future…”

Dean huffed a small, weak laugh that caused him cough up blood, “I didn’t expect you to bring that conversation up right now, but I guess you have a point.”

Dean’s body had taken quite some damage, it could be considered a miracle that he was still conscious, but the people who knew him and the things he had already endured, also knew that it really wasn’t that much of a miracle.

Cas quickly got to work, placing his palm on the gaping wound and carefully started knitting the cells back together. Healing drained him, but what the hell. So maybe he wouldn’t be able to smite for a month and maybe he’d be a little more human for a while. He didn’t mind those things and this was Dean.

While Cas was still healing his hunter, Sam and the teenagers gathered around them. They watched in amazement as the thick, grey stone walls of the maze started to disappear slowly, growing more and more translucent until trees and grass came shining through. It didn’t take long until the maze had vanished completely, leaving the group on the clearing in the forest where the door to the maze had been standing.


	9. Hold me in your arms tonight

When Dean’s vision cleared again, he found himself staring into bright blue eyes. Letting his eyes take in his surroundings he mumbled, “Are we out?”

“Yeah, the labyrinth is gone, we did it,” he heard Sam’s relieved voice somewhere to his right.

Looking back at Cas he cracked a smile and his angel returned it.

They’d made it. They were out of the fucking maze, had killed the damn monster and all of the teenagers were alive. And on top of that, he wasn’t even in pain anymore — Cas had healed all of his wounds and as he knew the guy, he’d even erased all of his older scars too.

“You okay?” Dean asked as both Cas and Sam helped him stand up.

“Yes, a little weakened, but fine.”

“Alright, let’s go home.”

“Home sounds good…” Cas said.

“With a few stops in between,” Sam added.

The group made their way to the Impala, where the teenagers called Sue to pick them up so that they wouldn’t have to deal with their parents right away. Sue was delighted, told them she’d be there in a few minutes at most.

Sam called Mick, told him what had happened and that all of them had made it out okay. Mick told him they’d been lucky, that Achlys was not a deity to be trifled with. But the supernatural signature had vanished from his screen so the job was certainly done.

“She probably fed on her victims’ misery. So she showed them their worst nightmares before killing and eating them. But since she herself doesn’t have the powers for that, she had to steal the magic from Phobetor, as Cas mentioned,” Mick mused.

“Yeah, but what I still don't get is why she was even in there. I mean, that was the labyrinth of the Minotaur for a reason. What was she doing there after Theseus had killed it?” Sam wanted to know.

“I don't know,” Mick’s voice drifted out of the speaker, “But my best bet it that the other gods or even some humans decided to lock her away in there. Then she used her powers to relocate the entrance to the dimensional bubble around her prison far away from Crete, where she could keep feeding on everyone who happened to stumble into her maze.”

“Huh, yeah that makes sense,” Sam stated, “Alright, thanks Mick, see you soon.”

“My pleasure, have a nice ride.”

Tucking away his phone, Sam looked at Dean and Cas who were standing by the Impala.

“You heard all of that?” he asked.

“Yep,” Dean replied.

Sam huffed a little laugh, “I can’t believe everyone made it out alive. I mean, how often does that happen?”

“Not often enough,” Dean said.

“Yeah. But this time… The monster is dead and for once everyone lives. We did a good job here.”

Dean chuckled, “You could say we were a- _maze_ -ing.”

Sam rolled his eyes so hard, they should’ve fallen out of his skull. Which wasn’t a surprise, really. But to his right, Dean heard a sound that was wholly unexpected. It’s a quiet snort and Dean turned around to look at Cas who seemed to try really hard to hold it together, but failed horribly, letting out a hearty laugh that Dean had never heard or seen before. It was a sight to behold, Cas’ eyes crinkling and a wide, toothy grin on his face as he laughed about Dean’s dumb joke. And the _sound_. It made Dean’s stomach flutter and his heartbeat go crazy and all he could do was stare and drink it all in. When the laughter died down — too soon, way too soon — Cas was looking at Dean with his insanely beautiful eyes that were now shining brighter than any sun and Dean couldn’t look away. He’d never wanted to kiss the guy more.

Sam cleared his throat and said something, but Dean was too captivated by Cas’ smile to really listen.

Cas let out one last chuckle and then started to speak, “Will we drive home right away?”

Dean shook himself out of his stupor and finally stopped staring. “If you want? I mean, we should definitely stop for food somewhere and everyone here is a bit dehydrated, so there’s that. We could also take a bit more time and take a motel on the way for a night before going the rest of the way.”

“That sounds good,” Cas said.

“Good. Then we’ll do it like that.”

They both leaned back against the side of the Impala, Sam only a couple feet to their left, all three of them watching the group of friends next to Sue’s car talking and hugging and… oh. _Oh_. Lucas and Andrew were kissing. Sue, Ian and Jenny seemed surprised but delighted. This little nightmare trip must’ve brought some things to light…

Speaking of which… Dean and Cas really needed to talk.

Sam excused himself, saying something about talking to the teenagers about what to tell the police and their parents, while Dean desperately tried to calm his racing thoughts.

As he turned to Cas though, the angel seemingly wanted to take a step away from the car, but almost collapsed, Dean catching him as his knees buckled.

“Whoa Cas, you okay?”

“Yes. The fight and healing you just seems to have weakened me more than I thought.”

“And that means?” Dean asked worriedly.

“Nothing major. I’ll be mostly fine as soon as I get some food and rest.”

“Mostly?”

“Well, my grace will still be powered down, but I’ll have regained my physical strength, meaning I’ll be completely healthy again.”

“Good. That’s good.” Dean helped him straighten up and lean back against the car again before he went to get them some water from inside the car.

Taking one last deep breath before the final jump, Dean turned fully towards Cas, “I think we need to talk…”

Cas stared at the water bottle in his hands and nodded wordlessly.

“What happened in there… We- our feelings- we shouldn’t-”

“I know we both want this, Dean. It’s never been so obvious as in that maze… But we can't have it…”

“Yeah… it’s too dangerous. A tactical weakness that could be used against us… Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself. But… it’s already been used against us so many times… it’s not an excuse anymore.”

“I know,” Cas said, “Your fear of fucking up isn’t either.”

“What?” Dean looked at him with wide eyes.

“You couldn’t drive me away, Dean. I didn’t leave you when you had the Mark and I didn’t give up on you when you were a demon, or possessed by Michael. Nothing you could possibly say or do could be worse than those things, so there’s no way you could fuck this up.”

Dean just stared at him for a moment. He did have a point. After all the shit Dean had put him through, Cas was still here. He was still staying with him. Everyone else would be long gone, but not Cas. Never Cas. And when Dean finally realized that Cas would in fact never leave him if given the chance, the hunter also decided that there was no valid reason for them not to throw caution to the wind and take the leap.

They could have this. Each other. Hell, they were already pretty damn close to it according to Lucas and Andrew. Dean hadn’t even realized how comfortable they had grown with touching each other until he’d found out that the two boys had thought them to be a couple.

“Cas…” Dean swallowed hard, voice barely above a whisper, “You know not even death ever managed to keep us apart, right?”

It was barely audible, but Cas understood. He understood that Dean was trying to tell him that they could figure out a way to stay together beyond the human lifespan. That Cas wouldn’t have to lose him and wander the face of the Earth all alone. They could find a solution. If someone could do that, it was them.

There was a pause where they just stared at the ground in front of them.

Suddenly Dean let out a laugh, “You know, Jimmy once described it as being chained to a comet… He wasn’t exactly wrong. You can be _infuriating_ , but… at the same time you’re the best damn thing that ever happened to me and I’d have to be a complete idiot not to see that.”

His heart was racing and he had no idea where this courage had suddenly come from, but he turned towards Cas and reached out to lightly trail Cas’ cheek and jaw with his fingers. His heart made a jump when the angel turned to him as well and leaned into the touch like he was craving it. Well… maybe he was.

Dean swallowed hard, pushing his doubts and fears away for the sake of this moment, for the sake of _them_.

His voice quiet and full of raw emotion, he said, “Believe me when I say, I wanna be chained to this comet for the rest of my life…”

He could feel Cas’ breath hitch, wide blue eyes staring up at him with awe. A hand came up to rest on his cheek and Cas leaned closer, breathing out, “I want that too…”

Dean leaned into Cas’ hand, turning his head for a moment to press a quick kiss to Cas’ palm and then gave him the softest and sweetest smile the angel had ever seen on his Righteous Man. And at once they were leaning in, slowly, anticipation building between them as their noses brushed. They felt the other’s hot breath against their faces and they let their eyes flutter shut and suddenly lips met lips, infinitely soft at first, then firmer. Cas’ hand moved from Dean’s cheek to the back of his neck and Dean’s hand moved into Cas’ hair who hummed approvingly into their kiss. Dean’s free hand snaked around Cas’ shoulders while Cas’ hand settled on Dean’s waist, pulling them flush against each other.

Cas had almost forgotten how it felt to fly, but Dean was reminding him right now. It was — for the lack of a better word — heavenly. He never wanted to miss this again in his entire existence.

Dean didn’t know how he’d been able to go so long without this. It was everything he’d ever wanted, everything he ever could’ve wished for and so much more.

It didn’t take long until the kiss deepened and they eagerly licked into each other’s mouths, tasting and exploring. Both moaned when their tongues touched for the first time.

“Huh, looks like we aren’t the only ones who finally got their shit together,” Andrew commented upon noticing the scene a couple feet away from their little group.

Sam scoffed, but he was smiling, “ _Finally_ is in this case the understatement of the century, but yeah.”

Suddenly Sue chimed in, only saying, “They’re a hot couple.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

 

The teenagers left in Sue’s car together, leaving Dean, Sam and Cas the only ones in the forest. They were tired and hungry, but at the same time indescribably happy. Dean and Cas couldn’t stop grinning at each other like dorks and Sam rolled his eyes with a smile, “Alright, let’s go home.”

He held out his hand expectantly to Dean.

“What?” the older brother asked with an incredulous tone.

“Give me the keys. You almost died a few minutes ago, I’m not gonna let you drive.”

“I’m fine, Sam. I can drive perfectly well.”

“Dean, come on, you need to rest,” Sam insisted, turning pleading eyes at Cas, “You tell him.”

Cas sighed, “Sam is right, you should rest. And…” he looked at the ground, “I’d really like it if you would keep me company on the back seat.”

At that Dean’s expression softened and Sam knew he’d won. The keys were handed over without another word and Sam got into the drivers’ seat while Dean and Cas climbed into the back, soon enough joining their lips once more.

Sam awkwardly noted that they apparently needed each other more than air, because they took an awfully long time to break apart to breathe…

They got burgers on the way and soon the hunger of the past days was as good as forgotten. It was getting dark and Sam would stop at the next half decent motel he’d come across, but for now, Cas and Dean were curled up on the too small backseat as close as they could get, pressing lazy kisses anywhere they could reach. Sam thought it was adorable. He smiled every time he checked the rearview-mirror. He was happy for them. It had taken them long enough, really.

After pulling into the motel parking lot, Sam cast one last look at the couple in the backseat who couldn’t seem to part if their lives depended on it. He rolled his eyes with a small smile and got out of the car. When he came back from the reception with two keys — for one double and one single room as far apart as possible — the two lovebirds had gotten out of the car and were now kissing softly while leaning against it.

“I got us separate rooms,” he announced, causing them to break apart and look at him, “for obvious reasons. Here’s your key.” He tossed the key to Dean, who caught it with a quiet, “Thanks.”

Then Sam opened the trunk, took his duffle bag and tossed the keys of the Impala at his brother too, “I’m going to my room. See you two tomorrow. Oh and… take it easy, okay? These were exhausting three days.” And with those words, he wandered off, leaving Dean and Cas alone.

Dean chuckled, taking both of their duffles out of the trunk, “I guess that’s his way of giving his approval. Or maybe he’s just telling us he’s glad we finally got our shit together.”

“I’d like to think it’s a combination of the two,” Cas commented, taking his bag from Dean.

Their room wasn’t far, but they were in no hurry. Fingers intertwined they walked over to the door and neither was happy to let go when Dean needed to unlock it. When the door swung open and they stepped inside, they took a short moment to take the room in. Sam had made a good choice. It wasn’t the Hilton, but it was a lot more decent than their usual “undefinable stains everywhere” motel. It looked actually pretty nice and it was definitely clean. And there was a double bed standing against the right wall, almost in the center of the room. Dean felt warmth spread in his chest at the sight of it. Maybe he should consider getting one for at home.

They dropped their bags on the floor and Dean kicked the door shut behind them. They got as far as taking off their shoes before the gravitational pull became too strong and they pressed their lips together once more.

Dean sighed into the kiss, pulling Cas as close as he could get him. He just couldn’t get enough. He’d imagined this a hundred times over the years, but he’d had no idea how fucking addicting it would actually be. Cas was so warm against him and his lips were soft, if a little chapped, and he kissed Dean with just as much fervor as Dean kissed him and it was all kinds of perfect. When he felt the angel’s tongue asking for entrance, Dean opened up their kiss eagerly, moaning at the slow drag of Cas’ tongue against his. Cas’ hands were everywhere, on his waist, his back, his shoulders, his neck, in his hair or cupping his jaw, like the angel couldn’t decide where to touch Dean first and it made the need to be closer even stronger, almost unbearable.

Somehow Dean found himself pressed up against a wall, being kissed stupid and honestly, there was absolutely nothing negative to be found about this development. They broke apart to catch their breath a little and Dean started to press soft kisses along Cas’ jaw and neck, making the angel sigh. Dean pressed his nose against the nape of his neck and breathed deep. Fuck, Cas smelled so good. Dean almost moaned from that alone. He wanted to melt into Cas like a lovesick teenager and promptly decided to fuck it all and allowed himself to do just that. He hooked one leg around Cas’ waist as he pressed closer, still worshipping Cas’ neck as he slowly urged the coat off his angel’s shoulders. When he nipped, sucked and licked at Cas’ pulse point, he was rewarded with the most beautiful moan he’d ever heard.

The coat hit the floor and within a second Cas’ arms were around Dean again, pulling him into another deep kiss. Dean moaned, running his fingers through Cas’ hair, bringing it back to all of its messy glory. He bit Cas’ bottom lip and the angel groaned Dean’s name, starting to kiss and nibble along the hunter’s jaw. Dean couldn’t help leaning his head back against the wall to allow for better access.

“Cas,” he sighed as he felt the other sucking a hickey into the skin right above his collarbone, “Have you- ah- Have you still got your super strength?”

As if to prove a point, Cas lifted Dean’s other leg that was not already wrapped around him effortlessly off the floor and pressed Dean into the wall with a kiss that made Dean’s eyes roll back in his head. He wrapped himself more tightly around his angel, lips permanently sealed.

“You like that, don’t you.” It was more of a statement than a question and Cas was so beautifully flushed when he said it through pants of breath that Dean wasn’t even ashamed to admit it.

“Hell yeah, I fucking love it. No one I’ve ever been with was strong enough to manhandle me like that, but you… God, you’re perfect, Cas.” And with that he leaned in once again, capturing Cas’ kiss-swollen lips and eliciting a soft moan from his seraph.

When Cas bit Dean’s lip, causing him to gasp, the hunter decided they should take it a step further.

Letting his stubble scratch against Cas’ he whispered, “Let’s move this to the bed, shall we?”

In response, Cas let out a little growl and grabbed Dean’s thighs tighter, lifting him away from the wall and carrying him across the room during just another breathtaking kiss. Dean shrugged out of his jacket and shirt on the way to the bed and Cas used the opportunity to have one of his hands firmly grasp Dean’s ass. He dumped Dean unceremoniously on the mattress and the hunter immediately shuffled into the center, never taking his eyes off of Cas as he took off his t-shirt and then his pants.

“C’mon, Cas. I wanna feel your skin.”

Cas took a moment to appreciate Dean’s body, only clad in black boxer briefs. He had reconstructed this body with his own hands and grace, yet he’d never had the chance to really admire it. The need to feel Dean’s skin against his own won over the appreciation of Dean’s beauty and Cas started to take his own clothes off. The suit jacket and tie made their way onto the floor first. Then followed the shirt and lastly the slacks, all the while Dean staring at him shamelessly and when Cas was finally down to only underwear, Dean’s eyes were roaming all over him, lips parted slightly.

“Now come here,” Dean urged on, “This is gonna feel so good…”

Cas couldn’t wait any longer, he crawled up the bed and between Dean’s legs, draping himself over him as he pressed another hungry kiss onto his lips. Dean arched upwards, arms looping around Cas and pressing their bodies flush together and it felt _so good_ , Cas couldn’t hold back a satisfied moan. There was so much skin, he could feel _everything_.

“Amazing,” he sighed into their kiss and Dean happily hummed in agreement.

When Cas was back to worshipping his neck, one hand kneading his ass and the other tracing his side and chest, Dean used the opportunity to flip them over and then he promptly attacked the angel’s throat with that unholy mouth of his. Cas let out a moan, arching into Dean’s touch and the hunter was all too happy to give him more.

He slowly kissed his way downwards, making a short stop at Cas’ nipples, then continuing by tracing his tattoo and finally reached his destination at Cas’ hip bones.

Tracing them with his fingers, he mumbled, “Oh god, these are sharp enough to cut glass…”

These hips had been part of every single of his wet dreams and shower fantasies of the past few years and now… now they were _right there_. He leaned down and traced them with his lips and tongue, earning a sharp gasp from his favorite angel. Cas was in bed with him, flushed, panting and willing. It was all of Dean’s fantasies come true and he couldn't restrain himself from doing something else he’d been dreaming of. He kissed Cas’ hipbone once more, while looking up at him through his lashes before he latched onto the soft skin and sucked _hard_.

“Fuck,” Cas cursed, letting out a helpless moan as he arched off the bed and buried one hand in Dean’s hair.

Dean kept sucking and biting bruises into the delicate flesh while Cas writhed, moaned and whimpered underneath him. Cas knew there’d probably be no time in the future where he wouldn’t have bruises on his hips from now on and he welcomed that thought.

When Dean finally stopped assaulting Cas’ hipbones, the angel’s breathing was ragged, there were wonderful marks blooming on his skin and he blindly grabbed for Dean’s shoulder. The hunter let himself be guided into another deep kiss with a slow and dirty drag of tongue. Cas wrapped himself around Dean, holding him close in a tangle of limbs and suddenly Dean felt… something.

It was like a faint brush of a feeling, gone far too quickly to analyze it but strong enough to startle him. He flinched slightly, pulling away from the kiss and looked down at Cas with wide eyes full of confusion. Below him, Cas looked almost sheepish.

“What the hell was that?” Dean wanted to know.

“I’m sorry, Dean, I- I couldn’t keep my grace from reaching out to you…”

“Wait, you mean… that was you? Like, the real you?”

Cas cocked an eyebrow, “Yes, that was me. I must’ve brushed my grace against your soul… I didn’t mean to… It shouldn’t even be possible… I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Dean said softly with a tint of wonder to his voice. “What do you mean it shouldn’t be possible?”

His eyes darted around the room, but of course the walls didn’t provide an answer. He paused for a moment, then said with awe, “It shouldn’t even work with a human soul or at least not that easily as far as I know… It’s been done before, but with great difficulty.”

“And what is ‘it’?”

“It’s, uh… the angelic way of merging.”

“So… angel sex?”

Cas rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth lifted a little, “I suppose you could call it that, though it’s not entirely accurate… I don't even know how it could be initiated by accident…”

Dean couldn’t help but smile. He leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of Cas’ mouth and mumbled, “Must have something to do with our bond…”

Cas hummed, “Possibly…”

“Can you do it again?” Dean asked softly.

Cas’ eyes widened in surprise, “What?”

“Well, uh… Do you wanna… merge with me?”

“I- um- uh…” Cas’ eyes darted nervously around the room as he stammered until Dean silenced him with a soft kiss. When he pulled away, the angel sighed, “Yes… I’ve heard it’s pure ecstasy… I’ve been dreaming– _fantasizing_ even, about becoming one with you, Dean.”

“So you’ve never done it before, huh? At least I’m not the only one then…” he pressed a kiss to Cas’ cheek.

“No, never. I’ve told you years ago when you asked, I never had the opportunity… and later I just didn’t want anyone but you…”

“Fuck Cas, I’ve been wanting you for so long… I wanna have you in any way I can get you.”

“Dean…” The hunter felt a careful, tentative brush again, followed by Cas asking, “Do you really want this?”

“Fuck yeah, Cas. I want you… In every possible way. I mean it.”

That and the look in Dean’s eyes as he gazed down at Cas was all the consent he needed and he pulled Dean into yet another heated kiss, brushing his grace against that beautiful soul still carefully but more confidently now.

The feeling was odd at first, but certainly not unpleasant and soon Dean found himself relaxing into it. It felt warm and safe, like an afternoon in the garage working on Baby, or cooking for his family, or a movie night with Cas. It was a feeling of home. This feeling was _Cas_. Cas himself, his very essence, seeping into Dean like water into dry soil. The contact grew more insistent and Dean sighed, their kisses growing softer as Cas went for a slow buildup, since they were both rather new to this. When Dean felt the presence deep inside slowly curl around him, the world narrowed down to Cas and him. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet little moan, relishing the feeling of closeness.

Cas rolled them both onto their sides, still pressed close and sharing slow kisses. Dean was responding so lovely to his ministrations, it gave him the courage to increase the intensity, pouring more heat into their contact, not only wrapping around Dean’s soul, but pressing into it. What he didn’t expect was for Dean’s soul… to willingly _open up for him_. He pressed his forehead against Dean’s as they both let out a moan and then Dean was kissing him again, his soul pulling him in and wrapping around him just as he was wrapped around Dean. Dean was a fast learner, it took him only a few minutes to figure out the mechanics and then he was pushing back at Cas, giving as good as he got and _Oh yes, just like that…_

Dean had never felt so close to anyone in his life. Probably because there was no way to somehow get closer than this. Both their essences were wrapped around each other, twisting and turning and gliding and caressing. Cas was moaning Dean’s name so beautifully and Dean himself also couldn't seem to stop whispering Cas’ name like a mantra.

They were sinking deeper into each other, feeling the other in places that were dark, unfamiliar to anyone else or almost forgotten and it was so intimate that Dean normally would’ve ran for the hills, but this was _Cas_ and they were both losing themselves in sensation and Dean wanted to weep for how good it felt. It was burning heat and a feeling of deep connection and so much better than anything he’d ever felt.

It already felt glorious and simply indescribable, yet both of them were still striving for more, trying to get closer, wanting to merge completely.

And all of a sudden, Cas pressed his lips to Dean’s and then– It was unlike anything a human could possibly comprehend. The world around them faded from existence, everything turned into white light, scorching heat, as two beings became one and soared impossibly high in pure ecstasy.

It was like a piece sliding into place that Dean hadn’t even known had been missing. They were one and Dean didn’t remember how he’d managed to live all those years completely and utterly alone as only himself. Now they were joined and he couldn't imagine ever living without this again, without _Cas_. They belonged together — he’d never felt it as clearly as he did now. He felt the strong bond they shared and how much they needed each other. Two parts of a whole, finally united as it was meant to be and had been for a long time now.

When Dean came back to reality, the two of them were a mess of tangled limbs, pressed together from head to toe and he couldn’t help but smile. Cas was in his arms, sweaty and panting, pressing kisses into Dean’s skin wherever he could reach, all the while whispering _Dean, Dean, Dean_ over and over. A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand revealed that they must’ve been in that state of union for several minutes. It had felt like a small eternity.

As soon as he had his own breathing under control, Dean gently cupped Cas’ cheek and leaned in for a tender kiss that made the angel sigh against his hunter’s lips.

When they pulled apart, Dean’s voice was still a bit wobbly as he said, “That was… intense.”

“Indeed,” Cas agreed, sounding spent and sated as he leaned his temple against Dean’s.

“Y’know, you might’ve just ruined me for normal sex…”

Cas hummed, “Mmmm, I hope not…”

Dean chuckled and pulled him into yet another kiss. He could definitely get used to this.

As they pulled apart to just look at each other, Dean left his hand on Cas’ cheek, stroking softly back and forth with his thumb. And as he got lost in his angel’s blue eyes, he thought he’d never seen something more beautiful in his life than what was right in front of him now.

Feeling a dopey grin form on his face, he was sure he must’ve been looking like a completely lovestruck idiot and he had to admit to himself that he could as well say out loud what he was thinking for the past few years now. The feeling had been there for so long already, he’d just never had the courage to say the words. Cas deserved to hear them.

Still somewhat high on the feeling of their union, Dean scraped up every inch of courage he had, took a shaky breath and said what he was feeling for what felt like forever, “I love you, Cas.”

And the look Cas gave him was enough to erase every single doubt and fear he had about this, at least for a few moments. It was a look of wonder and awe and utter adoration as Cas’ bottom lip wobbled ever so slightly, his eyes wide and just this side of teary and then the angel said, voice so thick with emotion, it sounded almost hoarse, “Dean… I love you, too. Always.”

Then he moved closer, sealing their lips in a kiss full of promises, vows and unadulterated love. And for a short moment in between soft and tender kisses, Dean breathed his affirmation against Cas’ lips.

“Always.”


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end notes for an additional warning

Years had passed since the Minotaur case and their first kiss. A lot had happened since then. Mick and Jack were running an ever-growing hunter’s network with the Bunker as their base. Jody, Donna and the girls were always working on expanding it and sometimes Mary would visit through Jack’s portals and help along. Sam and Eileen had settled down together, in a little house all of their own. Dean’s and Cas’ bond grew stronger every time they melded…

Well, that is, until Dean died.

It had been a stupid little thing during a hunt and Cas just hadn’t been strong enough to heal him… One shared look and they’d both known the time had come. He’d died in his angel’s arms, Billie coming to collect his soul personally, surprised at seeing him go so willingly.

“It’s gonna be fine,” he’d told her, “We have a plan.”

She hadn’t known what he’d meant, but it was clear he wouldn’t come back after she’d sent his soul to Heaven.

Cas had called Sam and Jack and they’d come together with Eileen and Mick to say goodbye to Dean as Cas laid a hand on his lover’s forehead and let him become one with the meadow underneath, causing beautiful flowers to bloom where his body had been.

Now Cas was in their room in the Bunker, looking through old pictures of them, the silver ring heavy on his finger. The past years had been the happiest of their lives.

“You’re going to leave, right?” Sam asked from the doorway, Jack standing next to him.

Cas nodded, “We have a plan. We all knew this would happen one day.”

He ran a hand through his grayed hair, letting out a sigh. He’d been aging his vessel alongside Dean so they could grow old together. Not as old as he would’ve liked, but still good.

“Yeah, I know… but how do you know this will work?”

“I don’t. But I can feel Dean’s soul longing for me even in Heaven and I won’t rest until I’m with him again.”

“You miss him,” Jack stated as a matter of fact.

Cas nodded weakly, “I do…”

It’d been weeks since Dean’s death and Cas would’ve left sooner, but there had been so much to take care of, like visiting Jody and the girls to bring them the news and say his goodbyes, that he’d had to stay some time longer. He pretended that it wasn’t a big deal to wait a bit more, but the truth was, he missed Dean so much it was a physical ache inside his chest. He missed Dean’s hands holding his or traveling on his skin, he missed his eyes staring deep into his own, he missed his lips and his tongue, his glorious kisses… and he missed Dean’s soul, warm and bright against his grace.

Sam gave a small nod and what he hoped was an encouraging smile, “One would have to be a colossal idiot to try and keep you two apart… so, uh… Good luck.”

“Thanks Sam,” Cas said when he was pulled into a hug.

“Try to let me know that you’ve made it,” Jack told Cas as they were hugging then.

“I will.”

 

He drove off into the direction of a certain playground that housed the gate to Heaven. While on his way, he took the time to return his body into its original state before he’d started to age. Getting out of the car and walking across the playground, he saw a group of angels already waiting at the gate. Naomi was among them and Cas realized they were waiting for _him_.

“As soon as his soul took its place in Heaven, we knew it would only be a matter of time until you’d show,” she said calmly.

He let his angel blade slip into his hand, eyeing her warily, “Don’t try to stop me.”

“Oh, we won’t. Wouldn’t dream of it.” She paused. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past twenty years, it’s that trying to separate you from your Dean is not a good idea. You do not belong to us anymore, I’ve come to see that. You belong to _him_. So we won't stop you from going into his Heaven, for you’re already a part of it.”

Now Cas tucked his blade away again, squinting at her. “But?”

She sighed, “But know this: your bond with him has become strong, stronger than I ever thought possible… so strong that when you enter his Heaven, you won't be able to leave again. You’ll be bound to him for eternity.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Cas’ lips. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her expression then was something akin to wonder or maybe fascination.

“Before you go… I really am curious. And I tried to understand what this is between you and him, but I couldn’t. Could you try telling me what it feels like? Does it… hurt?”

His smile turned a little sad. “It hurts every minute that I’m not with him. I’m aching for his touch, I long for his voice. I miss him so much it hurts. But… when I’m with him… I almost forgot what it feels like to fly, but when he’s with me, I remember.”

Naomi’s eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted. Cas took a moment to identify her expression as one of surprised awe and utter fascination.

“Thank you, Castiel.”

Cas gave a small nod. As he stepped toward the gate, the other angels bowed their heads in respect, even Naomi herself. It’s the last thing he saw before he was engulfed in white light.

As he walked the corridors of Heaven, every angel he crossed paths with got out of his way. He walked with determination, his step quickened by the growing sensation of Dean’s longing. When he finally found the door to Dean’s Heaven, he paused for a moment. Slowly he raised his hand to grab the door handle and open it. Stepping through, he blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was night, a million stars glistening in the sky. He was standing on a field of high grass and flowers, a house visible in the distance. One look and he knew, he was home.

Letting the door fall shut behind him, he made his way through the grass, listening to the crickets and the hoot of the owl in the forest behind him.

There was still light turned on in the house and as Cas took a short peek through the window, he noted that it looked startlingly similar to the Bunker, just with windows and a little more homey.

He stepped onto the front porch, heart hammering wildly in his chest, and then he knocked.

Dean almost dropped everything he was holding as he heard the knock. Hands free, he raced to the door, almost knocking something over in the process. When he opened, his heart made a jump. There he was — Cas, in his dumb suit and stupid tie and so achingly familiar trench coat.

For a few seconds they just smiled at each other like dorks, lovestruck expressions matching.

When Dean remembered how to breathe, he said, “You’re beautiful as ever.”

Then Cas fell into his arms.

Dean gathered him close, “What took you so long?”

Cas melted into his embrace, breathing him in, “I had… things to take care of before I could make my way to the gate.”

“And they, what… just let you in?”

“Yes, actually. They know how useless it is to try keeping me away from you.”

That got a little laugh out of both of them and Dean pulled back to look at Cas, laying a hand on his cheek.

“I missed you.”

“Dean…” Cas leaned into Dean’s every touch like he was starving for it.

Dean’s hand was still resting on Cas’ cheek and his thumb touched the angel’s lips, feeling his breath hitch. Then he slowly leaned in and Cas actually _trembled_.

“How long?” Dean whispered.

Cas swallowed, “Weeks…”

Then Dean finally closed the gap between them and Cas sighed against his lips as the ache behind his ribs morphed into a swarm of butterflies.

Mouths attached and bodies pressed together, they stumbled into the house, Dean kicking the door shut behind them.

This was their very own kind of happy ending. The beginning of their eternity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER: Dean dies in this chapter, but it's a happy ending nonetheless!

**Author's Note:**

> This was such a wild ride and I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did! Make sure to leave a comment and/or kudos, you have no idea how much that means to a writer.  
> Thanks for reading!


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